06-21-2019, 05:42 PM
One possible manifestatiion of global warming is heat waves. Northern India is baking.
Since late May 2019, India has been facing a severe heat wave. It is one of the hottest and longest heat waves in India's recorded history. The highest temperatures occurred in Churu, Rajasthan, reaching up to 50.8 °C (123.4 °F),[3] a near record high.[4] As of 12 June 2019, the heat wave had lasted for over 32 days, making it the second-longest ever recorded.[5]
As a result of the hot temperatures, more than 184 people have died in the state of Bihar alone,[6] with many more deaths reported in other parts of the country.[7][8]
The heat wave has coincided with extreme droughts and water shortages across the country. In mid-June, reservoirs that previously supplied Chennai had run dry, leaving millions without reliable access to water. The water crisis has been exacerbated by high temperatures, causing protests and fights that have led to people being killed, stabbed and beaten.[9][10][11]
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Since 2004, India has experienced 11 of its 15 warmest recorded years.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Indian_heat_wave#cite_note-businessInsider-12][12] The frequency and duration of heat waves in India has increased and is predicted to continue increasing until 2064. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology identified several factors as the possible cause of this: "El Niño Modoki", which is an irregular El Niño where the central Pacific Ocean is warmer than the eastern part; and the loss of moisture in soil due to a lack of trees which results in less evapotranspiration and more heat transfer into the atmosphere.[13][14]
In response to the growing number of deaths from heat waves, the Indian government began implementing life-saving measures in 2013. In Ahmedabad, for example, "school days were reduced, government work programmes ceased, and free water was distributed in busy areas." Public gardens were opened during the daytime so that people could seek shade. Professor of public health Parthasarathi Ganguly estimated that 800 fewer people died in 2014 as a result of these policies.[15]
In India, the rainy monsoon season typically begins on 1 June. However in 2019, the monsoon was delayed by seven days and began on 8 June. When it did occur, the monsoon made slow progress and only brought rains to 10-15% of the country by 19 June. Normally, two-thirds of the country would have received monsoon rains by this time. The lack of rainfall has intensified heat wave conditions and resulted in water scarcity.[16]
The heat wave has caused multiple deaths and cases of illness. As of 31 May 2019, 8 deaths and 456 cases of illness due to heat were reported in Maharashtra, at least 17 deaths in Telangana, and 3 deaths and 433 cases of heatstroke in Andhra Pradesh.[13] On 10 June 2019, three passengers were found dead on a train as it arrived in Jhansi, apparently due to the heat wave. A fourth passenger was found in critical condition and brought to a hospital where they died of overheating.[17] In the state of Bihar, heat related deaths reached 184 on 18 June according to Al Jazeera,[6] while according to Zee News the death toll was 139 on 19 June 2019.[18]
High temperatures have broken or nearly broken records in various cities across India. At one point, 11 of the 15 warmest places in the world were all located in the country.[12] On 2 June 2019, the city of Churu recorded a temperature of 50.8 °C (123.4 °F), only two-tenths of a degree Celsius short of the country's highest-ever temperature, 51 °C (124 °F) during the 2016 heat wave.[4] On 9 June 2019, Allahabad reached 48.9 °C (120.0 °F), breaking its previous all-time record.[12] On 10 June 2019, the temperature in Delhi reached 48 °C (118 °F), a new record high for the city in the month of June.[19][20][21] On the same day, peak power usage in Delhi reached 6,686 MW, breaking all previous records.[5]
Droughts and water shortages have occurred in multiple states across India, worsening heat wave conditions. In Chennai, millions of people are without consistent access to water. A lack of rainwater and groundwater has left four of the reservoirs that supply the city completely dry. The inability to meet demand for water has forced businesses like hotels and restaurants to close. Water tankers from areas of Tamil Nadu unaffected by drought have been bringing water into some areas of the city. However, government tankers can take up to a month to appear after requested, so some wealthy residents and business owners have opted to pay for costly private water tankers. The poor who live in slums do not have this option; a family in Chennai's slums may receive as little as 30 litres (7.9 US gal) of water every day compared to an average American household which uses 300 US gallons (1,100 L) of water a day.[9] In Coimbatore, at least 550 people were arrested for protesting the city's government for mismanaging the water crisis.[10]
Conflicts over access to water have also occurred throughout India. On 7 June, six people were stabbed in Jharkhand during a fight near a water tanker, and one man was killed in a similar fight in Tamil Nadu. In Madhya Pradesh on 5 June, a fight over water led to two men being "seriously injured", while in a separate fight a day earlier, a water tanker driver was "beaten up".[11] In early June, fifteen monkeys were found dead in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, possibly as a result of the heat wave. Veterinarian Arun Mishra says this may have happened due to a conflict over water with a larger group of 30–35 monkeys. Mishra said this was "rare and strange" because herbivores do not usually engage in such conflicts.[22]
The heat wave is a possible aggravating factor in an encephalitis outbreak in Bihar which has killed over 100 children since 1 June.[23][24]
In early June, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a severe heat wave warning in Rajasthan and nearby areas such as Delhi.[4] The Ministry of Health advised avoiding the sun between noon and 3 p.m. and not drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee. Meanwhile the Indian National Disaster Management Authority recommended covering the head, cross-ventilating rooms, and sleeping under a slightly wet sheet.[25]
On 3 June, the government of Churu poured water onto roads in order to cool them and prevent them from melting.[26]
In response to fights over water in Madhya Pradesh, the police were deployed to guard water tankers and other sources of water from rioters, beginning 8 June.[11]
On 17 June, the government of Gaya, a city in Bihar, declared Section 144 and banned construction work and assemblies between 11 a.m. and 4 pm.[18]
.......
Coming soon to a state near you -- like Texas?
Since late May 2019, India has been facing a severe heat wave. It is one of the hottest and longest heat waves in India's recorded history. The highest temperatures occurred in Churu, Rajasthan, reaching up to 50.8 °C (123.4 °F),[3] a near record high.[4] As of 12 June 2019, the heat wave had lasted for over 32 days, making it the second-longest ever recorded.[5]
As a result of the hot temperatures, more than 184 people have died in the state of Bihar alone,[6] with many more deaths reported in other parts of the country.[7][8]
The heat wave has coincided with extreme droughts and water shortages across the country. In mid-June, reservoirs that previously supplied Chennai had run dry, leaving millions without reliable access to water. The water crisis has been exacerbated by high temperatures, causing protests and fights that have led to people being killed, stabbed and beaten.[9][10][11]
[/url]
Since 2004, India has experienced 11 of its 15 warmest recorded years.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Indian_heat_wave#cite_note-businessInsider-12][12] The frequency and duration of heat waves in India has increased and is predicted to continue increasing until 2064. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology identified several factors as the possible cause of this: "El Niño Modoki", which is an irregular El Niño where the central Pacific Ocean is warmer than the eastern part; and the loss of moisture in soil due to a lack of trees which results in less evapotranspiration and more heat transfer into the atmosphere.[13][14]
In response to the growing number of deaths from heat waves, the Indian government began implementing life-saving measures in 2013. In Ahmedabad, for example, "school days were reduced, government work programmes ceased, and free water was distributed in busy areas." Public gardens were opened during the daytime so that people could seek shade. Professor of public health Parthasarathi Ganguly estimated that 800 fewer people died in 2014 as a result of these policies.[15]
In India, the rainy monsoon season typically begins on 1 June. However in 2019, the monsoon was delayed by seven days and began on 8 June. When it did occur, the monsoon made slow progress and only brought rains to 10-15% of the country by 19 June. Normally, two-thirds of the country would have received monsoon rains by this time. The lack of rainfall has intensified heat wave conditions and resulted in water scarcity.[16]
The heat wave has caused multiple deaths and cases of illness. As of 31 May 2019, 8 deaths and 456 cases of illness due to heat were reported in Maharashtra, at least 17 deaths in Telangana, and 3 deaths and 433 cases of heatstroke in Andhra Pradesh.[13] On 10 June 2019, three passengers were found dead on a train as it arrived in Jhansi, apparently due to the heat wave. A fourth passenger was found in critical condition and brought to a hospital where they died of overheating.[17] In the state of Bihar, heat related deaths reached 184 on 18 June according to Al Jazeera,[6] while according to Zee News the death toll was 139 on 19 June 2019.[18]
High temperatures have broken or nearly broken records in various cities across India. At one point, 11 of the 15 warmest places in the world were all located in the country.[12] On 2 June 2019, the city of Churu recorded a temperature of 50.8 °C (123.4 °F), only two-tenths of a degree Celsius short of the country's highest-ever temperature, 51 °C (124 °F) during the 2016 heat wave.[4] On 9 June 2019, Allahabad reached 48.9 °C (120.0 °F), breaking its previous all-time record.[12] On 10 June 2019, the temperature in Delhi reached 48 °C (118 °F), a new record high for the city in the month of June.[19][20][21] On the same day, peak power usage in Delhi reached 6,686 MW, breaking all previous records.[5]
Droughts and water shortages have occurred in multiple states across India, worsening heat wave conditions. In Chennai, millions of people are without consistent access to water. A lack of rainwater and groundwater has left four of the reservoirs that supply the city completely dry. The inability to meet demand for water has forced businesses like hotels and restaurants to close. Water tankers from areas of Tamil Nadu unaffected by drought have been bringing water into some areas of the city. However, government tankers can take up to a month to appear after requested, so some wealthy residents and business owners have opted to pay for costly private water tankers. The poor who live in slums do not have this option; a family in Chennai's slums may receive as little as 30 litres (7.9 US gal) of water every day compared to an average American household which uses 300 US gallons (1,100 L) of water a day.[9] In Coimbatore, at least 550 people were arrested for protesting the city's government for mismanaging the water crisis.[10]
Conflicts over access to water have also occurred throughout India. On 7 June, six people were stabbed in Jharkhand during a fight near a water tanker, and one man was killed in a similar fight in Tamil Nadu. In Madhya Pradesh on 5 June, a fight over water led to two men being "seriously injured", while in a separate fight a day earlier, a water tanker driver was "beaten up".[11] In early June, fifteen monkeys were found dead in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, possibly as a result of the heat wave. Veterinarian Arun Mishra says this may have happened due to a conflict over water with a larger group of 30–35 monkeys. Mishra said this was "rare and strange" because herbivores do not usually engage in such conflicts.[22]
The heat wave is a possible aggravating factor in an encephalitis outbreak in Bihar which has killed over 100 children since 1 June.[23][24]
In early June, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a severe heat wave warning in Rajasthan and nearby areas such as Delhi.[4] The Ministry of Health advised avoiding the sun between noon and 3 p.m. and not drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee. Meanwhile the Indian National Disaster Management Authority recommended covering the head, cross-ventilating rooms, and sleeping under a slightly wet sheet.[25]
On 3 June, the government of Churu poured water onto roads in order to cool them and prevent them from melting.[26]
In response to fights over water in Madhya Pradesh, the police were deployed to guard water tankers and other sources of water from rioters, beginning 8 June.[11]
On 17 June, the government of Gaya, a city in Bihar, declared Section 144 and banned construction work and assemblies between 11 a.m. and 4 pm.[18]
.......
Coming soon to a state near you -- like Texas?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.