delhi
Newsletter
Credit: Eddy Pellegrino/Pixabay
India experiences extreme heatwave with record-breaking temperatures
India is facing a severe heatwave, with Delhi experiencing temperatures nearing 50 degrees Celsius, causing widespread water shortages and disruptions.
In short:
- Delhi and other regions in India are experiencing near-record high temperatures, with some areas reporting up to 52.9 degrees Celsius.
- The heatwave has led to a water crisis in Delhi, prompting authorities to ration water supplies and implement measures to cool the city.
- The heatwave has caused the first heat-related death of the year and significantly increased power demand.
Why this matters:
Environmental experts link this extreme weather event to broader patterns of climate change, which are making heatwaves more frequent and intense.
Farmers in rural areas are particularly vulnerable, as the heat threatens crops and livestock, jeopardizing food security. Urban residents, meanwhile, are contending with the urban heat island effect, which makes cities like Delhi even hotter than surrounding rural areas due to concrete and asphalt absorbing and re-radiating heat.
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Credit: Collab Media/Unsplash
Delhi's landfills: a crisis of methane emissions and public health
Delhi's massive rubbish dumps are not just an eyesore but a significant source of methane emissions.
Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan report for The Guardian.
In short:
- Delhi's landfills, including Ghazipur, Bhalswa, and Okhla, are identified as major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO2.
- The lack of waste segregation and gas capture systems in these landfills leads to the unchecked release of methane into the atmosphere.
- The situation is exacerbated by the frequent fires at these sites during summer, contributing to Delhi's severe air pollution and posing health risks to nearby residents.
Key quote:
"During the summer it catches fire every week because of all the gas and then it becomes even more disgusting here. It’s impossible to breathe and everyone gets sick because of the bad fumes and smoke we have to inhale."
— Mohammad Rizwan, shop owner near Ghazipur dumpsite
Why this matters:
The crisis at Delhi's landfills highlights the need for effective waste management and methane emission control in rapidly growing urban areas. This situation not only impacts local air quality and public health but also contributes significantly to global warming. Addressing these issues is crucial for sustainable urban development and the health of millions.
LISTEN: Pallavi Pant on decolonizing global air pollution research.
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Photo by Laurentiu Morariu on Unsplash
‘A matter of survival’: India’s unstoppable need for air conditioners
The arrival of summer in Delhi is the “beginning of hell”. As temperatures in cramped, densely populated Delhi often soar above 45C (113F), inhabitants dreams of only one thing: air conditioning.
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Image by Joseph Thomas from Pixabay
India national capital receives record single-day rain as several parts face severe downpour
Red alerts have been sounded for several regions across India facing heavy rainfall, while a record-breaking downpour in capital Delhi has led to waterlogging and brought daily life to a standstill.
While New York is choking on smog, for Beijing, New Delhi and other cities it's just another day
As smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets New York, residents are grappling with severe air pollution, a rare occurrence for the city. However, in many major cities across Asia, battling intense air pollution caused by smoke, fossil fuels, and industrial chemicals has become the norm, writes Jessie Yeung for CNN.
In a nutshell
The images of cities engulfed in smoke have shocked the nation, prompting authorities to issue air quality alerts along the East Coast. While scenes like this are rare outside of West Coast states that regularly face wildfires, combating smog is a longstanding battle in many parts of the world. Last year, six of the world's most polluted cities were in India, and air pollution is estimated to be reducing the life expectancy of millions of Indians by up to nine years.
Key quote
The image of the United Nations building in New York, barely visible through orange smog, “is the perfect image for how world leaders have failed at stopping the climate crisis,” tweeted scientist and climate advocate Lucky Tran on Wednesday, adding in a separate post: “Today New Yorkers and East Coasters are experiencing this impact first hand.”
Big picture
Fossil fuel combustion, along with other factors like dust storms and wildfires, releases harmful pollutants such as fine particulate matter into the atmosphere. These pollutants can travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream, leading to various health problems including asthma and heart disease. The exacerbation of wildfires and their subsequent impact on air quality are directly linked to human-caused climate change, emphasizing the urgent need for effective measures to address the climate crisis and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Read the full story here.
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Creatively tackling India's climate challenges through the food supply chain
As the planet warms, India is facing a tangled set of challenges: The South Asian population hub has some of the most polluted air in the world, especially around the capital of New Delhi.
‘In Delhi I can see the climate catastrophe unfolding before my eyes’
Rahul Raina splits his year between his homes in Oxford and Delhi, cities where the fallout from the climate crisis is being felt in starkly different ways.
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