Heatwave in Delhi – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:26:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://artifexnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-Artifex-Round-32x32.png Heatwave in Delhi – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net 32 32 India’s ‘heat trap’ cities make summers worse, says government official https://artifexnews.net/article68302805-ece/ Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:26:02 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/article68302805-ece/ Read More “India’s ‘heat trap’ cities make summers worse, says government official” »

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A woman walks under an umbrella as heat wave grips the city of Guwahati, India, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Most parts of the north India are sweltering under scorching temperatures with the capital New Delhi under a severe weather alert as extreme temperatures strike parts of the country.
| Photo Credit: AP

Indian cities have become “heat traps” due to their unbalanced growth devouring water bodies and increasing greenhouse emissions, a senior government official said on Monday, as a scorching summer killed dozens in some parts of the country.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast above-normal temperatures for June in the northwest and central parts of the country including Delhi, making it one of the longest heatwave spells.

The highest daily temperatures in the capital have stayed above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) since May 12 and are forecast to fall below that mark only on June 26. The IMD’s heatwave criteria start with 40 degrees in the plains and 30 degrees for hills where it is generally cooler because of elevation.

Delhi, which is also facing a water shortage, recorded about 44 degrees late Monday afternoon but the IMD said it felt like 49.2 degrees.

“Climate change plays an important role,” Krishna S. Vatsa, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters.

Unbalanced urban growth, which has reduced wetlands and water bodies, was another factor, Vatsa said. “The emission of greenhouse gases has gone up. The permeable spaces have gone down considerably. The cities actually have become heat traps.”

As a result, he said, nights are nearly as uncomfortable as days.

According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) published last month, land surface temperatures in the summers of 2001 to 2010 in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai used to drop by up to 13.2 degrees during the night from their day-time peak. Between 2014 and 2023 they were only cooling off by up to 11.5 degrees.

“Hot nights are as dangerous as mid-day peak temperatures,” the Centre’s report said. “People get little chance to recover from day-time heat if temperatures remain high overnight.”

Vatsa said most Indian states were implementing heat action plans that include provisioning drinking water and better medical facilities, as well as rescheduling outdoor work and school vacations.

But Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director, said there was no clear mandate to implement long-term strategies. Delhi’s long-term plan includes increasing heat insulation of buildings, developing shelters for urban poor and slum dwellers, and investing in cooling water bodies.

Such plans need to be backed financially, said Vishwas Chitale of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water think tank in New Delhi.

“Cities are struggling with their own finance and they don’t have additional budget to implement actions for heat,” he said.



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India’s ‘heat trap’ cities make summers worse, says government official https://artifexnews.net/article68302805-ece-2/ Tue, 18 Jun 2024 06:26:02 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/article68302805-ece-2/ Read More “India’s ‘heat trap’ cities make summers worse, says government official” »

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A woman walks under an umbrella as heat wave grips the city of Guwahati, India, Saturday, May 25, 2024. Most parts of the north India are sweltering under scorching temperatures with the capital New Delhi under a severe weather alert as extreme temperatures strike parts of the country.
| Photo Credit: AP

Indian cities have become “heat traps” due to their unbalanced growth devouring water bodies and increasing greenhouse emissions, a senior government official said on June 17, as a scorching summer killed dozens in some parts of the country.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast above-normal temperatures for June in the northwest and central parts of the country including Delhi, making it one of the longest heatwave spells.

The highest daily temperatures in the capital have stayed above 40 degrees Celsius since May 12 and are forecast to fall below that mark only on June 26. The IMD’s heatwave criteria start with 40 degrees in the plains and 30 degrees for hills where it is generally cooler because of elevation.

Delhi, which is also facing a water shortage, recorded about 44 degrees late Monday afternoon but the IMD said it felt like 49.2 degrees.

“Climate change plays an important role,” Krishna S. Vatsa, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, told Reuters.

Unbalanced urban growth, which has reduced wetlands and water bodies, was another factor, Mr. Vatsa said.

“The emission of greenhouse gases has gone up. The permeable spaces have gone down considerably. The cities actually have become heat traps.”

As a result, he said, nights are nearly as uncomfortable as days.

According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) published last month, land surface temperatures in the summers of 2001 to 2010 in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai used to drop by up to 13.2 degrees C during the night from their day-time peak.

Between 2014 and 2023 they were only cooling off by up to 11.5 degrees C.

“Hot nights are as dangerous as mid-day peak temperatures,” the Centre’s report said. “People get little chance to recover from day-time heat if temperatures remain high overnight.”

Vatsa said most Indian states were implementing heat action plans that include provisioning drinking water and better medical facilities, as well as rescheduling outdoor work and school vacations.

But Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director, said there was no clear mandate to implement long-term strategies.

Delhi’s long-term plan includes increasing heat insulation of buildings, developing shelters for urban poor and slum dwellers, and investing in cooling water bodies.

Such plans need to be backed financially, said Vishwas Chitale of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a think-tank in New Delhi.

“Cities are struggling with their own finance and they don’t have additional budget to implement actions for heat,” he added.



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Delhi Bakes At 45.8 Degrees, Sees Driest May In 10 Years https://artifexnews.net/delhi-bakes-at-45-8-degrees-sees-driest-may-in-10-years-5788470rand29/ Fri, 31 May 2024 15:04:46 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/delhi-bakes-at-45-8-degrees-sees-driest-may-in-10-years-5788470rand29/ Read More “Delhi Bakes At 45.8 Degrees, Sees Driest May In 10 Years” »

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The IMD issued a ‘yellow alert’ for Saturday and said there is a possibility of thunderstorms.

New Delhi:

The national capital reeled under heat wave conditions for the fifth day on Friday with the mercury soaring to 45.8 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The weather department also said the national capital recorded only two rainy days this May, the lowest in 10 years.

The IMD issued a ‘yellow alert’ for Saturday and predicted generally cloudy skies with the possibility of thunderstorms and dust storms accompanied by light showers and gusty winds at speeds of 30 to 40 kmph.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to reach 44 and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The MeT has four colour-coded warnings — green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).

Friday’s mercury reading is the second-highest maximum temperature recorded by Delhi’s primary weather station, the Safdarjung Observatory, this summer so far.

The MeT said the minimum was recorded at 29 degrees Celsius. The city’s relative humidity oscillated between 38 per cent and 23 per cent during the day.

The city broke its temperature records this month, noting a 79-year high of 46.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, according to the IMD data.

On June 17, 1945, the national capital noted a maximum temperature of 46.7 degrees Celsius.

On Wednesday, Mungeshpur recorded 52.9 degrees Celsius. The IMD said in a statement that they are examining the sensors and data of the area’s weather station for any potential errors.

However, the weather department has not yet issued any report on the inspection of the sensors in Mungeshpur.

The national capital is also facing water shortage due to the unprecedented summer heat.

This month also saw the least number of rainy days in the last 10 years. Delhi saw only two rainy days this May, compared to 11 in 2023, seven in 2022, 12 in 2021, and seven in 2020.

The average maximum and minimum temperatures in May stood at 41.4 degrees Celsius and 26.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, the weather office said.

According to the IMD, the threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in the coastal areas, and 30 degrees in the hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 notches.

A severe heat wave is declared if the departure from normal exceeds 6.4 notches.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)



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