E-Paper
Mercury rises in northwest and central India, several parts record 40 degree C
Meanwhile, a fresh western disturbance (WD) is likely to impact the western Himalayan region and the north-western plains on April 17 and 18.
Several parts of the country are recording maximum temperatures above 40 degree C according to India Meteorological Department’s heat bulletin on Thursday.
These include Vidarbha, Marathwada, West Madhya Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh and West Uttar Pradesh.
Some states are recording maximum temperatures as high as 5 degrees above normal in Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Saurashtra and Kutch, at few places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. Maximum temperature is about 3 degrees C above normal over northeastern states, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Tamil Nadu among others.
The highest maximum temperature on Wednesday was recorded at Akola in the Vidarbha region at 43.4 degree C. “These regions in central and west India are climatologically prone to heat during this period. There are also clear skies and no weather systems affecting these places,” said K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre.
Meanwhile, a fresh western disturbance (WD) is likely to impact the western Himalayan region and the north-western plains on April 17 and 18. This WD is likely to cause scattered to widespread thundershowers over the western Himalayan region and scattered thundershowers over the northern plains including Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh on April 17 and 18.
Due to convergence of strong moist winds from Bay of Bengal parts of the northeast and sub Himalayan west Bengal will get widespread rains in the next 7 days, IMD said in its bulletin. Maximum temperatures may fall by a couple of degrees for a couple of days in northwest India owing to the WD but maximum temperatures will remain in the range to 40 to 42 degree C in Telangana, Rayalseema and north interior Karnataka, IMD’s bulletin said.
Air quality in several parts of northwest India deteriorated marginally from “satisfactory” and “moderate” to “moderate” and “poor” categories due to dust raising winds which increased the PM 10 (coarse pollution particles) on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
On Thursday, for example, Delhi was in “moderate” ; Faridabad in “poor”; Bulandshahr in “very poor”; Ghaziabad, Kanpur in “poor” among others. “This is mainly because of dust raising winds blowing over Delhi NCR and surrounding regions from Rajasthan. Its not a contribution from other emission sources,” said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre.
Meanwhile, an analysis by Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) released on Thursday, on the impact of the lockdown found visible reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels based on Satellite data from Sentinel 5P-TROPOMI. The main source of NO2 emissions is fuel combustion by vehicles and industries. On March 22 when Janata curfew was imposed, air pollution levels were found to be lowest since 2017.
The comparative satellite data of the period March 11 to 24 and March 25 to 7 showed NO2 hotspots over cities and industrial areas have reduced significantly. CREA researchers said NO2 pollution was responsible for thousands of child asthma cases and formation of PM 2.5 particles due to secondary particle formation from NO2 emissions.
The main reason behind reduction of NO2 levels is the dip in consumption of diesel or petroleum products, consumption of diesel had decreased by 25% in March 2020 compared to March 2019 and petrol consumption reduced by 18% during the same period.
“The current crisis has shown us that clear skies and breathable air can be achieved very fast if concrete actions towards reducing burning of fossil fuels… We have to ensure that we invest heavily in renewable energy and other clean energy solutions,” CREA researchers said.
