The scorching temperatures in northern India are part of a broader heatwave affecting much of Southeast Asia, one of multiple heatwaves occurring around the world due to from a combination of short-term weather conditions and long-term human-driven warming trends. caused climate change.
The heatwave, which began to develop more than a week ago, has sometimes exceeded a dangerous threshold.
A Washington Post analysis found that the wet globe temperature, which measures the extent of heat stress on the human body, reached 97 to 100 degrees (36 to 38 degrees Celsius) in Delhi on Tuesday. That’s higher than the threshold of 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) that researchers have identified as posing a risk to human survival if such heat continues. The wet globe temperature is based on a combination of factors, including temperature, humidity, wind and clouds, and was calculated by The Post using data from a nearby weather station.
The extreme heat had wide-ranging impacts.
“The intense heat has sharply increased the number of home fires, heat stroke and trips to emergency rooms. This has made simply going out – a necessity for many who rely on manual labor for their daily wages – simply unbearable,” Ramanan Laxminarayan, president of One Health Trust in India, said in an email. “Rising temperatures are accompanied by water shortages and, together, make many areas simply unlivable. »
Amit Sah, a contractor, had hired seven laborers to install tiles on a roof in east Delhi from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. But, with the heat, he stops work from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and resumes in the evening. “This creates a huge loss for me. But the last three days have been unbearable. It feels like we’re on fire outside. Our mouths are dry for water. We sweat constantly.
Last week, a local consumer court that had no air conditioner or cooler in the national capital was adjourned as the judge said in an order that “there is too much heat in the courtroom, which resulted in so much sweating that it was difficult to hear arguments” and no water supply in the toilets, according to local reports.
The conditions have spread across large parts of India, as all schools closed next week in the eastern state of Bihar after several students fainted due to ‘a heat stroke. The northern and western regions also received similar alerts.
One of Sah’s workers, Ramnath Paswan, took a day off for the first time in his life because of the heat, but said he had to work on Thursday even though the heat continues to break records as he works for daily wages. “I have never seen this type of heat in Delhi. But we will have to work. Our stomach doesn’t listen to us, whether it’s hot or not.
Several cities in India recorded their highest ever temperatures on Wednesday, according to climate historian Maximiliano Herrera, including 120 degrees (48.8 Celsius) in Rohtak and 117 degrees (47.2 Celsius) in Fursatganj. This followed a high temperature of 121 degrees (49.5 Celsius) on Tuesday in Sirsa, the highest ever recorded in the state of Haryana.
Around Delhi, the highest temperature recorded by a manually operated station on Tuesday or Wednesday was 117.7 degrees (47.6 Celsius) on Tuesday in Aya Nagar, southwest of the city. Automated weather stations recorded temperatures up to 121.8 degrees (49.9 Celsius) in the region.
Reports on Wednesday morning that Delhi exceeded 50 degrees Celsius for the first time appear to have been premature. Several news agencies reported a temperature as high as 126 degrees (52.9 Celsius) in Delhi’s Mungeshpur area. This would have been an all-time record for any place in the country.
However, a press release from the Indian Meteorological Department said the measurements came from an automated weather station considered less reliable than its manually operated stations. The temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius at Mungeshpur is “an outlier compared to other stations. This may be due to a sensor error or a local factor. IMD is examining the data and sensors,” the meteorological department said.
Thunderstorms and dust storms battered parts of Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, but brought only temporary relief. After a few minutes, the ground dries up again and the sky quickly clears.
The Meteorological Department said that “heatwave conditions will diminish over the next 2-3 days due to gradual drop in temperature associated with approaching Western Disturbances, rainfall/thunderstorms and southerly wind. west blowing from the Arabian Sea to northwest India.”
Record heat ravaged not only India, but much of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Mexico and Florida this month. May’s exceptional heat follows an April that marked the 11th consecutive month of record global heat. That month began with a heatwave across West Africa that would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution.
Other factors contributing to heatwaves include stagnant areas of high pressure known as heat domes, El Niño, and record ocean temperatures around the world. Forecasters predict that El Niño will weaken in the coming months, which could moderate global temperatures.
Stillman reported from Washington. Ian Livingston, Scott Dance and Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
News Source : www.washingtonpost.com
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