Many scientists have also said that the threat of climate change is going to be perennial and worsening as strong winds blow in the areas of North India. Under its influence, the national capital Delhi recorded a temperature above 49 degree Celsius. Flash floods recorded in Assam,
Delhi’s neighboring Gurgaon also recorded the highest temperature since May 1966 at 48 degree Celsius on Sunday. Experts then analyzed the incidence of extreme weather events and issued a dire warning.
“As a result of rising temperatures Global warming In South Asia and consequently higher than the heat and humidity levels, it is predicted that we will have more intense, longer and more frequent heat waves in India,” environmentalist and climate scientist Shakeel Ahmed Romshu told the news agency. PTI In a phone interview from Srinagar.
According to the Kashmir University professor, one indicator of climate change is the increasing frequency of climate extremes. A heat wave, he said, is an extreme climate and a direct indicator of climate change.
There were scenes of flash floods in the northeast and severe heatwave in Delhi throughout the weekend.
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“Over the past few decades, global warming has been at a rapid pace and traces of it can be seen on any single day of global weather since the 2000s. Generation Z has never lived a day without feeling the effects of global warming. ,” said Roxy Matthew Cole of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology PTI in Pune.
The national capital recorded its second warmest April this year since 1951, with a monthly average maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius. Above normal temperatures were also recorded in other north Indian states including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and hilly regions of Ladakh.
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While North India is battling high temperatures, parts of Kerala and Lakshadweep received heavy rains on Sunday. In addition, the Meteorological Office issued a red alert in five districts of Kerala. And in the east, Assam’s Dima Hasao district has been hit by flash floods and massive landslides at several places, cutting off rail and road links.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, the average maximum temperature for April this year over northwest and central India has been the highest in 122 years.
A heat wave at a distance of 4.5 to 6.4-degrees above normal and a severe heat wave greater than 6.4-degrees is considered to be declared.
Despite local weather interactions, Cole explained to PTI in an interview, the root cause of the increase in such events in the India-Pakistan region is global warming due to man-made carbon emissions.
Global climate change expert Harjit Singh said that the average temperature of the Earth has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
Singh, senior advisor to Climate Action Network-International (CAN-I), warned that rising temperatures would lead to increased heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in 2021 . told PTI over phone.
The impact of climate change on the urban landscape
The effects of climate change are amplified in cities, as urban areas are generally warmer than their surroundings due to concentrated structures and less greenery.
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In Romeshu’s view, heat waves, which are predicted to be more frequent, deadly and longer lasting in the country, will affect every sector of the economy.
“Look at the severity of the heat wave this year, it is concentrated in both the Indus and Ganges river basins which produce and supply much of the food supply in Pakistan and India. Heat waves are also predicted to increase the melting of glaciers already facing water scarcity in the region.”
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Scientists said that if the frequency of heat waves continues as predicted, it will adversely affect food, water and energy security in the region.
As the world heads towards a climate disaster, what is the way out?
Romshu said the impact on the cryosphere (ice and glaciers) and the projected increase of hydro-meteorological disasters is worrying.
“…these need to be addressed sectorally through the development of strong and prudent strategies and policies based on scientific inputs and guided by knowledge.”
Weather Conditions in Delhi
People in Delhi remained partly cloudy on Monday morning with the meteorological department predicting thunderstorm or dust storm in the national capital, which may bring down the mercury by a few degrees, providing a temporary respite from the scorching heat.
The MeT department said that a cyclonic circulation over Punjab and Haryana would induce pre-monsoon activity which would bring some respite from the scorching heat on Monday and Tuesday.
The IMD said that there is a possibility of thunderstorm or dust storm in the national capital on Monday.
The minimum temperature on Monday morning was recorded at 30.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. The relative humidity stood at 22 per cent.
The maximum temperature is likely to be around 41 degree Celsius.
flash floods in assam
According to an official statement, about 57,000 people in seven districts of Assam have been affected by the current floods in the northeastern state.
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The data also shows that about 222 villages under 15 revenue divisions are affected in this wave of floods and about 10321.44 hectares of cultivable land has been submerged in the flood waters. During this natural calamity in Assam, three people including a child died.
Apart from humans, 1,434 animals have also been affected by the floods and a total of 202 houses have been damaged so far.