Part of the region India and Pakistan increased Temperature important and endangers millions of lives. This phenomenon is an impact climate crisis.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), throughout April, the average maximum temperature in northwest India reached 35.9 degrees Celsius. While the northern part of India even reached 37.78 degrees Celsius.
This has an impact on school closures, crop failures and declining coal stocks. The Indian government has closed schools and asked its citizens to stay indoors to avoid dehydration.
Over the past few years, the federal and state governments of India have implemented a number of measures to mitigate the impact of heat waves. But according to IPCC lead author and senior researcher at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements, Chadni Singh, much more needs to be done to prepare for future heat waves.
“You have to adapt as much as possible. This heat wave is testing the limits of human survival. [Apalagi] India has no intention of fighting the heat wave [jangka panjang] and there are planning gaps,” Singh said.
So far, India’s power ministry has said coal stocks at three of the five power stations Delhi relies on to supply power have fallen below 25%.
India has canceled more than 650 passenger trains until the end of May to give priority to freight trains. The reason is that India is currently struggling to replenish coal stocks in power plants.
Apart from school closures and the loss of coal stocks, India has also experienced poor harvests. Northern Punjab, known as “India’s breadbasket”, has seen an average temperature increase of up to 7 degrees Celsius and impacted grain yields.
“Due to the heat wave, we lost over 5 quintals (500 kilograms) per hectare of our April crop,” Singh said.
Chandni Singh said farm workers were more likely to suffer from the scorching heat.
“People who work outdoors – farmers, construction workers, laborers – will suffer more. They have fewer options for cooling off and cannot escape the heat,” he said.
In April, New Delhi experienced temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius for seven consecutive days. In other words, it is three degrees above the April average.
Not only India, Pakistan and the cities of Jacobabad and Sibi in Sindh province also experienced heat waves of up to 47 degrees Celsius.
“This is the first time in decades that Pakistan has experienced what many call a ‘year without spring’,” Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said.
Experts say the climate crisis will lead to more frequent and longer heat waves. Moreover, this phenomenon can affect more than a billion people in both countries. According to Chadni Singh, India will be one of the countries hardest hit by the climate crisis.
“This heat wave is truly unprecedented,” said Dr. Chandni Singh.
“We have seen changes in intensity, time of arrival and duration. This is what climate experts are predicting and it will have a gradual impact on health,” he said.
(cyn/agt)
