•Do you remember the summer season 2 years ago?
YEAR : 2022
Look at this article(photo)
It was called the Hottest Summer Ever. That year , it was so hot in India that it broke the 122 year old record. But then the same summer came of 2023, In 2023, the summer season was so scorching hot that scientists said that it was the hotte summer in the last 2000 years.(photo).
BUT THEN COME TO THE YEAR 2024,
January 2024: Hottest January ever recorded.
February 2024: Hottest February ever recorded
March 2024: Hottest march ever recorded.
April 2024: Hottest month ever recorded.
EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE:
• The last 11 months on earth have been record breaking in terms of Heat. The scorching heat that you have to bear today is not normal. Last month, in South India and in the entire Southeast Asia, record breaking heat waves have been seen. Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia. Everywhere, there was such unbearable temperatures. In the Philippines, the heat index had crossed 53 c. In Uttarakhand, there was forest fires. In the first week of MAY, forest fires were seen in Odisha, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• Heat wave warnings are being issued all over the country, even in places like Kerala, where they aren’t heat waves usually. And now temperatures have been soaring above 40 c in North India. GLOBAL WARMING & CLIMATE CHANGE are the main reasons behind all this. But are they the only reasons? No! There are two other reasons. That are causing this and what is the solution at the local level. What can we do to avoid this heat? First we need to understand that such extreme weather events are not only seen in India or Southeast Asia, but also in every corner of the world.
• 83 people are died after days of heavy rain in Southern Brazil and more than hundreds are missing. Another 123,000 people that have been displaced by floods. There were deva sting floods in Brazil which more than 150,000 people were displaced. Entire cities were submerged. What is happening in South Africa? We are witnessing a terrible drought. A drought unparalleled in the past several decades. That’s why many Southern African countries have requested $5.5 billion from the rest of the world. To prevent a situation of starvation.
• There is one weather event behind all this destruction which is considered the Biggest cause and that is EL NIÑO. It is a natural cycle of the Earth’s climate that is seen every 5-7 years. The full name of this cycle is EL NIÑO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION in short [ENSO]. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is the second biggest cause that changes the climate of the Earth.
• On the first place is the relationship between Earth & the sun, Earth’s revolution around the sun,which causes the seasons to change. But after that effect. EL NIÑO which is like a regular cycle, but this is not a regular cycle. Sometimes it happens every 4 years, sometimes after 5 years, sometimes after 7 years. But when EL NIÑO happens, it lasts 6 to 12 months. It causes higher temperatures and drier weather conditions. The risk of heat waves increases.
• Now, apart from this, there is an opposite phenomenon of EL NIÑO which is LA NINA. Both these words are from Spanish. EL NIÑO means the boy and LA NINA means the girl. LA NINA events usually last longer. They can last for 1-4 years. After the EL NIÑO OF 2018-19, when LA NINA came in 2020-21, it became so extreme that it caused flooding in Australia. It rained so heavily in Australia. Scientists believe that climate change caused by humans is making the EL NIÑO Effect more extreme. That is, floods caused by EL NIÑO are becoming more dangerous m. Heat waves are becoming more and more violent. This is why in Kerala, a heat wave warning has been issued only twice.
• The first time was in 2016 and the second time was in 2024. Both time, during an EL NIÑO event. Those who not k ow this, may look at the actual temperature of “only” 40c, or 41c, thinking that it’s not very high. But it is very important to pay attention to the Heat Index. Because even for the heat index of 32c to 41c, you need to take extreme caution. If you spend a lot of time in the sun or do any physical activity, it is possible to get a heat stroke.
• We hear cases when people lose their lives due to the heat wave. And this is why, temperature wise,Delhi is hotter right now. But heat index wise, how bearable it is to stay outside? It becomes intolerable by June end. Because by then the rainy season is about to start and the humidity increases. Although, the situation has worsened to an extent that in Delhi, the heat index is touching 50c, and according to this report, over the next few days, it can reaches as high as 56c.
• Now apart from this there is another effect which increases the impact of heat waves impact on a local level. An effect whose solution is much easier that all other effects. THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. In different areas of a city, some places are hotter and some are colder. You have must noticed this too. At places with more trees, like parks or any other place, the temperature is relatively more comfortable there compared to other areas, and the areas with only big concrete buildings, tall glass buildings, 8-lane highways, asphalt covered ground, these places are way hotter. These places are known as URBAN HEAT ISLANDS.
SO HERE ARE THE POINTS HOW TO GET RID OF IT??
1. In my opinion, the development in the city means that people have proper walkable places. Cities should be designed where the temperature outside is comfortable there is enough greenery that people can walk to where they need to go. Can should be used as little as possible, because cares also release heat which increases the Urban Heat Island Effect.
2. Promoting cycle instead of cares & promoting public transport as an alternative is very important using air conditioners, another thing that raise the intensity of the Urban Heat Island Effect. When it gets hot outside, people use ac’s in their homes. Using AC’s in the house means that heat will be released outside, and the area or the environment outside will get hotter. One alternative to this is to use natural methods. Ventilation should be incorporated into the design of the building in a way that there is minimum need of an AC. Historically, our ancestors used to design such buildings.
3. Apart from this, in many places, the roofs are actually painted white so that the sunlight can be reflected. According to Yale universities website, if you paint your roof of your house white, then it will make a difference of 2c to 3c, because dark colours absorb sunlight and white colour reflects sunlight, and this isn’t applicable only for cities it is equally applicable for rural areas too.
4. Apart from white paint, another alternative can be to plant greenery on the roof. Plant grass or grow trees.
5. You will ask what else can we do instead of installing AC in houses? What is the alternative in this modern world? The straight answer is RADIANT-COOLING. This is a new technology which happens in this is, you install pipes in the walls through which cold water flows, and this cold water flowing through the walls, keeps your house cool without an AC. This technology is being used in many new buildings, but in reality , it’s an old technology.
6. Small channels of water used to flow around the building and since water passed through the area, it made the surrounding area cooler. This is the same concept. By promoting this technology, not only will the city remain cooler, but it will save money too. Electricity will be reduced.
7. And apart from this, obviously, Governments will need to focus on making cities greener. More trees, more parks, so that the impact of heat waves can be minimised. But we will have to implement all these solutions as soon as possible, because in the near future, as these heat waves are going to get more dangerous and more impactful. In a recent future projections for the tropical Indian Ocean study. It showed that in a few years, we will see almost permanent marine heat waves in the Indian Ocean by 2050, in many areas heat waves will last for 220 to 250 days a Year.
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