In all probability a severe heat wave spell is looking at us; which impacting millions. Brace.
Vast sections of the Indian subcontinent, starting from Balochistan and Sindh in Pakistan to Odisha and Bihar in East India, are currently experiencing extreme heat. The Northwest part of India just recorded the hottest March in 122 years, or since records are maintained. Temperatures in parts of North India are expected to rise above 45 degrees Celsius.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
The Reality Behind Heatwave In South Asia
This year, Northwest India recorded the hottest march in 122 years. An intense heat wave in mid- and late April 2022 brought temperatures 4.5 to 8.5°C (8 to 15°F) above normal in east, central, and northwest India—just weeks after the country recorded its hottest March since the country’ meteorological department began keeping records more than 120 years ago.
On April 27, 2022, the highest temperature in the country, 45.9°C (114.6°F), was recorded in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. The day before, a high of 45.1°C (113.2°F) was reported at Barmer in West Rajasthan in the northwest, according to the India Meteorological Department. Many other localities recorded temperatures of 42-44°C (108-111°F).
The heat wave has resulted in heat-related illnesses, poor air quality, and low rainfall. In addition, power demand has increased and coal inventories have declined, leading to the country’s worst electricity shortage in more than six years. In the northern regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, mountain snow has been rapidly melting. Moreover, the Forest Survey of India reports that more than 300 large wildfires were burning in the country on April 27. Uttarakhand accounted for nearly a third of those fires.
A bulge in the jet stream and a high pressure ridge have kept an unseasonably warm, dry air mass parked over the country, according to meteorologists. Heat wave conditions are expected to intensify in the next few days and last for at least another week.
The crippling heat has led to massive power cuts in India and Pakistan, where people have endured hours on end of power cuts. According to the Indian government, peak power demand reached 207,111MW on Friday (29 April 2022).
India is facing its most serious electricity shortage in six decades. A series of power cuts lasting up to eight hours has been imposed in states including Jharkhand, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab, and Maharashtra. This is because domestic coal supplies have fallen to critical levels, and the price of imported coal has risen. Indian Railways have canceled more than 600 passenger and postal train journeys to facilitate quick coal transport across India.
#Pakistan soared up to a scorching 49C (120.2F) today.
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) May 1, 2022
That's one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth in April. pic.twitter.com/AnIxNnjfwU
There are lots of heatwaves in India in the spring and early summer, especially in May, which is usually the hottest month. However, they are often relieved by the onset of the monsoon season between May and September. There has been an increase in spring heatwaves in India, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as 12 of the country’s 15 warmest years have occurred since 2006. In June 2015, the country suffered from similar heat wave that caused more than 2,000 deaths.
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