Record-Breaking Heat Grips India, Causing Blackouts And Riots b4in.org/g4Pa The usually chaotic streets of Delhi have been nearly deserted for days and the city’s markets have been eerily quiet. While the city is no stranger to warm weather, temperatures hovering around 115°F have kept even the heartiest sheltering indoors. On Sunday, a 63-year-old heat record melted away in a 118°F blaze. “Every day, the heat seems to be getting more intense and is not bearable anymore. I have taken a week-long leave from work,” Amar Luthra, a young professional, told NDTV, adding that he planned to head to the hills as he could no longer bear to commute on his motorcycle. The sweltering heat has led to a dramatic surge in demand for electricity in the city of over 22 million causing widespread blackouts. While most people in Delhi are accustomed to sudden power cuts, the current heatwave makes such cuts not just annoying, but dangerous. Indian municipal workers sleep on the grass under the shade of trees at a public park on a hot summer afternoon in New Delhi. The government is now cutting power to shopping malls and switching off street lights in an attempt to reduce the strain on the grid. Government officials will also get their AC cut over the next few days. While the heat on its own can be deadly, it also bakes the polluted air in the city, leading to dangerous spikes in ground level ozone. Analysis of real-time air quality data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) monitoring stations from January to early June have recorded the rapid build-up of ozone as summer heat has intensified. In the week before the current heat wave set in, the average ozone level across the stations was 73 micrograms per cubic meter on June 1. That figure doubled by June 5, soaring past levels considered safe. There are around 8 million vehicles in Delhi that contribute to the toxic soup of chemicals that can cook into ozone. More b4in.org/g4Pa
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 19:46:44 +0000
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