Heatwave in India: Know Heat Action Plan!

Heatwave in India: In terms of rising temperature and heat, this is the third consecutive year when the heatwave has lasted for more than 10 days. Usually, this period is 4-10 days.

Rising Temperature in India: The heat has broken all records. The highest temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius has been recorded in Delhi in history so far. Due to this, there has been a crisis of electricity and water supply. The situation is such that Delhi's Water Minister Atishi said on Tuesday that the day is not far when a challan can be issued for washing a car with a pipe or overflowing water from the tank. Due to the scorching heat, the electricity demand has increased and there is a shortage of electricity and water in many parts. According to the Central Water Commission, the water storage in 150 major reservoirs of India was only 24 percent of their total storage last week, which has increased the water shortage in many states and affected hydroelectricity production.

IMD Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra attributed the heatwave conditions in northwest and central India to the absence of western disturbances during the latter half of May. Western disturbances are extratropical weather systems that form over the Mediterranean Sea and move from west to east. Meteorologists say that a new western disturbance is likely over northwest parts of India on Thursday, which may bring sporadic rains and some relief to the region over the weekend. This was about the changes caused by weather conditions.

Heatwave of more than 10 days

In terms of rising temperature and heat, this is the third consecutive year when the heatwave has lasted for more than 10 days. Whereas usually, this period is 4-10 days. The reason for the increase in the duration of temperature is climate change and due to this, the humidity has also increased. In this context, a report by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) says that due to the humidity in the air, sweat is drying very fast, so the heat is felt more than in reality. These are not the only reasons responsible for this, but changes in land use and urban structure are also among the major reasons for this.

Due to densely packed buildings, concrete roads, glass, steel, concrete, AC, etc. in cities, the heat generated during the day is not completely released at night. Its effect is that the temperature in cities remains high for 24 hours. This is called the Urban Heat Island Effect. What is meant to say is that where there is greenery around the buildings, there is some relief but where there are only concrete jungles, there is no relief from the heat at any moment. There is no way for the heat trapped there to be released.  

The experience of the last 20 years of major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai suggests that air-surface temperature and relative humidity, dense population in cities, concrete jungles, and lack of greenery are responsible for such conditions.

Heat Action Plan

According to a CSE report, the last 20 years of experience in major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai says that air-surface temperature and relative humidity, dense settlements in cities, concrete jungles, and lack of greenery are responsible for such conditions. To deal with this terrible crisis, more than 20 states have made a heat action plan in collaboration with NDMA, but it is not very effective yet. In this case, experts say that if we want to get rid of the concrete mess, then we should focus on green belts and water bodies in between them.