Delhi’s Heat Crisis- The Cries of the Blazing Ignorance
- Rishik Bedi
- Jun 30, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 8, 2021
Written by: Rishik Singh Bedi
Edited by: Nicole Ho S.W and Karyn Sethi
What is Climate Change?
Climate Change is a change in regional or global climate patterns, associated largely with the increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the result of such emissions, being large-scale shifts in weather patterns.
Delhi’s Heat Crisis
Intense heatwaves have killed over a thousand people in India just this summer and are predicted to worsen in the coming years, creating a humanitarian crisis as large parts of the country potentially become too hot to be inhabitable. Heat waves in India often take place between the months of March and July and abate once the monsoon rains arrive. However, in recent years, these hot spells have suddenly become more intense, more frequent, and even longer. India is among the countries expected to be the worst affected by the impacts of the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The temperatures in New Delhi peaked and reached drastic limits in 2017’s heatwave at a staggering high of 50°C! India’s recurring heat waves have managed to melt tarmac on the roads of some of their busiest cities. Many have had to fight melting tar whilst crossing the roads as temperatures reached extremes.
Reasons for Delhi's Heat Crisis
It is recorded that about 10 million vehicles and 50 industries are present in the bustling city that is New Delhi. Most industries emit hundreds and thousands of kilograms worth of PM10 and PM2.5 particles, as well as nitrogen oxide and sodium oxide molecules.
Additionally, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has found that there are thousands of unmanaged vehicles and household fuels in Delhi, present due to the lack of enforced regulations. These perpetuate an accumulative emission of tonnes of particulate matter such as carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air.
Delhi, having a 31 million population and the highest population density in the world of 29,259.12 people per square mile exacerbates the severity of the condition. As humidity quickly builds up, its dense humid environment helps in confining heat more efficiently, and this evokes disastrous climate change.
According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, 90% of the heat arising from greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide emissions) are absorbed by the ocean. The upsurge in surface heat on the ocean prompts monsoon rains to expel the excess energy into the atmosphere, delaying its arrival and weakening under effects of El Niño.
With the frail nature and the delayed arrival of the monsoon rains, hot air rises into India from the North earlier than expected, increasing the span of summer and the extreme heat conditions that are experienced. This causes heat to start terrorizing India during March rather than late April along with weaker cooling effects, resulting in a significant heat crisis.
The Effect
Climate is woven into the fabric of Indian social, economic, and political thought in a way that it is not elsewhere. To emphasize the power of the monsoon would be to portray Indian lives as so many marionettes moved by a climatic puppet master. With the El Niño effect strengthening and the heat crisis in New Delhi worsening, India is continually expecting the worst, as they suffer the disastrous consequences of climate change. The catastrophic heat levels cause mass deaths due to heat strokes. Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say that even if the world succeeds in cutting carbon emissions, limiting the predicted rise in average global temperatures, parts of India will become so hot they will test the limits of human survivability. Mary Earls, an environmental reporter for The Bloomberg states that as per studies, India may experience a million deaths a year by 2100 if greenhouse emissions persist in similar levels of output.
Additionally, climate change is bound to affect agriculture, because it would reduce agricultural productivity. This may effectuate massive food shortages and famine in India, as increased droughts and intense heat waves result in increasing deaths of working labour, labour inefficiency, and reduced land productivity. According to studies conducted by the Centre for Water, Climate and Land Use (CWCL) on local farmers, prolonged periods of drought may also engender malnourishment and destruction of habitat for many animals, especially elephants and fish.
Not only will the immense emissions of these potent and hazardous gases causing climate change prompt many serious diseases such as lung damage, cancer, and bronchitis, but the prodigious masses of waste will also produce thick formations of haze- further heating the region by trapping more heat in the atmosphere.
The IPCC has stated that the effects of El Niño have caused annual rainfall to drop over 10% than normal in recent years. This itself has proven to be a massive threat to the economy in India, according to studies conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). They indicate that nearly 70% of India’s farms depend on rainfall and agricultural production makes up for 28% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with nearly half of India’s workforce working in agriculture.
Poor rainfall and the subsequent dip in agriculture income implies the government may need to raise the minimum support prices of crops. Consumers will be obligated to pay more for commodities like rice, sugar and other food items like cereals, pulses, etc. This will push up retail inflation. At a time when the economy is weak, the manufacturing industry is struggling, and consumer spending is low, an increase in inflation will be harmful. It will also force the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to keep interest rates high. Thus, a bad monsoon season will be detrimental to India’s economic recovery.
Evaluation and Morals
Delhi’s concerning levels of greenhouse emissions have immensely affected and devastated the entire nation, as conspicuous levels of ignorance and lack of regulatory pressures have led to an incredibly serious climate crisis in India. The high levels of greenhouse gas emissions result in the occurrence of regional warming and the allowance of the powerful influences of El Niño on monsoon patterns. These inturn open a slew of economical, social and even environmental complications, as well as overall threats to the Indian subcontinent. This issue perfectly highlights the importance of understanding the fragile and complex state of our environment, and how we all have responsibilities to act upon- in order to ensure a beautiful world for you, your loved ones, and for all of us. Let us join hands and walk together, rising to accomplish our dreams together, enjoying the beauties of nature together, before the damage is done, because by then it would be too late.
Sources:
Comments