Reason behind delhi hot summer

New Delhi (Viswas News). Deadly heat continues to wreak havoc in the entire country including Delhi. In some parts of Delhi, the temperature has touched 47 degrees. The heat is breaking records even at night. The Meteorological Department is also issuing red and orange alerts sometimes regarding heat wave.

Published on Dainik Jagran website on 19 June the news It is written that the temperature in Delhi set a new record on the night of June 18. The minimum temperature was 35.2 degrees, which is eight degrees above normal. Earlier, on June 3, 2010, the minimum temperature had reached 34.7 degrees.

The difference between day and night temperatures is decreasing

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) conducted a survey during the summer in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Study According to the information given on the website on 24 May 2024, the average temperature of Delhi in March-April 2024 was 3 degrees lower than the average temperature of 2014-2023, but high humidity is making heat stress worse. The difference between day and night temperatures has reduced by 9 percent. At night, the temperature of the city is only 8.5 degrees, while the surrounding temperature is 12.2 degrees lower. This shows that the urban area is getting 3.8 degrees less cold than the surrounding area. This is the effect of urban heat island. Here the built-up area was 31.4 percent in 2003, which increased to 38.2 percent in 2022. However, the green cover area increased from 32.6 percent in 2003 to 44.4 percent in 2022, but its increase had an effect on the day temperature, but it had no effect on the night mercury. This study shows that the effect of urban heat island is also visible on the temperature of Delhi.

A paper published on the CSE website on 27 October 2023 Report According to the International Panel on Climate Change, the effect of urban heat island can increase the heat in the atmosphere by up to two degrees. The report also states that the rising temperature at night is as dangerous as the maximum temperature in the afternoon. High temperatures throughout the night have a fatal effect on the body. This gives people very little chance to recover from the heat of the day. A 2022 study published in Lancet Planetary Health by scientists from China, South Korea, Japan, Germany and the US states that extremely hot nights will increase the risk of death by about six times.

A new report on NASA’s website on May 12, 2022 Report It is published. Based on the surface image of Delhi taken by NASA’s Ecostress on the night of May 5, 2022, it is said that Delhi’s urban ‘heat islands’ and small villages had a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius), while the surrounding areas were 40 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. The reason for cities being hotter than their surrounding areas is human activities and the materials used in the construction of buildings.

What is an urban heat island

National Geographic’s Website According to the Urban Heat Island (UHI), an area is hotter than the surrounding rural areas. There are many reasons behind this. When houses, shops and commercial buildings are built very close to each other, it causes a heat island. The material used in building construction is also very effective in stopping or insulating the heat. Due to this insulation, the surrounding buildings become hot. Heat emitted from vehicles is also a reason for this.

Delhi has many ‘heat islands’

Published in India Today on 5 May 2022 Report According to the IMD, due to the increase in concrete jungle in Delhi, ‘heat pockets’ or ‘heat islands’ have been established. The data released in April clearly shows that urbanization is one of the reasons for the increase in temperature. Looking at the data from 27 to 30 April, it is found that on 27 April, the maximum temperature of Akshardham Sports Complex was 44.2 degrees, which was the highest in Delhi-NCR. The lowest temperature of this area was recorded at 40.6 degrees at SPS Mayur Vihar station, a few kilometers away. On the same day, the temperature in Najafgarh was 43.7 and in Pitampura and the Ridge of North Delhi it was 43.6 degrees. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), apart from Akshardham, Pitampura, Najafgarh and Mungeshpur are also ‘heat islands’. Most of these areas are in North and West Delhi, while South Delhi is in a better condition than them. At the same time, slightly lower temperatures are seen in Lodhi Road and Safdarjung.

The report states that senior scientist of the Meteorological Department RK Jethmalani has said that this phenomenon is called the ‘heat island’ effect. If there is more construction in an area and glass walls are used, then the heat absorption reduces significantly. This situation changes in green areas. There, trees absorb the heat, which keeps the area cool. If urbanization increases, then even the Yamuna river will not be able to help in keeping the temperature low. Environmentalist and Executive Director of CSE Anumita Roy Chaudhary said that we have become very dependent on air conditioners. These ACs not only consume electricity, but also release a certain amount of heat. To balance this, we need both green and blue bluffers. Green cooling is obtained from trees and blue cooling is obtained from water sources.

89 thousand forest area development projects transferred in five years

If we talk about the shortage of forest area, then from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2023, about 89 thousand forest areas have been transferred for development projects in the country. Times of India Website But in the news published on 7 April 2023, it is written that this information was given by Environment Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey in the Rajya Sabha.

Is AC also the reason?

A 2014 article on the Arizona State University website Report It is published. It says that a team of researchers from Arizona State University has found that excess heat from air conditioners running during the night increases the outside temperature. This increases the demand for the cooling industry. The study found that waste heat from air conditioning systems was maximum during the day, but the average effect was zero near the surface. However, heat from air conditioning systems at night increased the average air temperature for some urban locations by more than 1 degree Celsius (about 2 degrees Fahrenheit). The study covered 10 extreme heat days from July 10 to 19, 2009. A similar Study This was also done in Paris. It was also reported that the heat from the AC system warms the outside air and makes the heat worse.

There will be more than 100 crore ACs by 2050

An article published in Hindustan Times on 25 October 2023 the news According to the World Energy Agency, the demand for air conditioners in India has tripled since 2010 due to the increasing heat. Now AC has reached 24 units per 100 homes. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that electricity consumption due to space cooling is set to increase by 21 percent between 2019 and 2022. Today, about 10% of electricity demand comes from space cooling requirements. The agency’s World Energy Outlook has estimated that by 2050, India’s total electricity demand due to ACs in homes will exceed the total electricity consumption in the whole of Africa. Published in The Guardian on 5 December 2023 Report It is written that the IEA has estimated that by 2050, more than 100 crore ACs will be active in India.

expert opinion

In this regard, we spoke to Avik Somvanshi, who has done a study on ‘heat islands’ in six districts including Delhi. He says, “Its effect can be seen in Delhi. Urbanization is one reason for this. Apart from this, heat generated from factories and vehicles is also the reason for this. Global studies have shown that the waste heat emitted from AC is also increasing the temperature in cities. Studies conducted on this have shown that the heat emitted from AC is increasing the temperature in cities. Heat environment Of The temperature can increase by about 2 degrees. This heat is often felt at night. Due to these reasons, the temperature of the city remains 5-6 degrees higher than the surrounding rural areas.“

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