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LobsterSauce


Registered: 11/09/08
Posts: 19,884
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Hundreds die in Indian heatwave
#12676813 - 06/03/10 03:59 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Record temperatures in northern India have claimed hundreds of lives in what is believed to be the hottest summer in the country since records began in the late 1800s.
The death toll is expected to rise with experts forecasting temperatures approaching 50C (122F) in coming weeks. More than 100 people are reported to have died in the state of Gujarat where the mercury topped at 48.5C last week. At least 90 died in Maharashtra, 35 in Rajasthan and 34 in Bihar.
Hospitals in Gujarat have been receiving around 300 people a day suffering from food poisoning and heat stroke, ministers said. Officials admit the figures are only a fraction of the total as most of the casualties are found in remote rural villages.
Wildlife and livestock has also suffered with voluntary organisations in Gujarat reporting the deaths of bats and crows and dozens of peacocks reported dead at a forest reserve in Uttar Pradesh.
"Because of the heat, lakes and other water bodies have been reduced to parched land, making dehydration common in such birds," said Neeraj Srivastava, a wildlife campaigner.
Even India's northern hill stations – historically a refuge from the heat – have not escaped. Temperatures in Shimla, recorded a peak temperature of 32.4 Celsius, eight degrees hotter than the seasonal average.
After a drought last year, India's farmers are now impatient for the arrival of the monsoon, which irrigates 60% of India's fields. National meteorologists have forecast "normal" rains for this year, a relief in a country where prices of basic foodstuffs have rocketed in recent months due to growing shortages and structural problems with agriculture.
Forecasters have predicted that the south-west monsoon could arrive over the southern state of Kerala as early as today, but it is unlikely to reach the parched north before the end of June.
"It's too long to wait. We'll all go mad before," said Sanjoy Kumar, who sells dumplings from a stall in south Delhi.
The capital has sweltered under intense heat for weeks though, having endured temperatures of around 45C last week, dust storms and scattered rain brought some relief over the weekend. The new air-conditioned metro has seen record numbers of passengers as travellers abandon buses, taxis and auto rickshaws.
Parts of the city have suffered prolonged electricity blackouts and, in outlying suburbs, water shortages. In upmarket Mehrauli village, residents were forced to buy from private suppliers plying door to door with tankers. In the new town of Gurgaon, entire apartment blocks have run short. In the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra, petrol pumps ran dry after railway wagons which normally carry fuel were switched to supply water.
The Indian Meterological Department attributes the record heat to lack of atmospheric humidity, hot dry winds blowing across the south-western Thar desert and the effects of last year's El Nino cycle.
Mean temperatures for both March and April were the highest in more than 100 years.
Columnists have wondered why, given that scorching temperatures in India are inevitable, the heat has become the centre of every conversation. For Jug Suraiya, a well-known writer, the answer lies in the concept of karma and rebirth.
"That's why we moan and bitch and bellyache," Suraiya explained in The Times of India newspaper. "Because by doing so we hope in our next incarnation, life will, in all senses of the term, be cool."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/30/india-heatwave-deaths
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themostpurple
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Registered: 06/30/09
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: LobsterSauce]
#12676966 - 06/03/10 05:13 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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indias wayyyyy overpopulated..bring the heat imo
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vinsue
Grand Old Fart



Registered: 02/17/04
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Loc: The Garden State(NJ)
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: LobsterSauce]
#12677048 - 06/03/10 06:03 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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--------------------
"All mushrooms are edible; but some only once." Croatian proverb. BTW ... Have You Rated Ythans Mom Yet ?? ... ... HERE'S HOW ... (be nice) . ...
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cryptic_pickle
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: themostpurple]
#12677160 - 06/03/10 07:17 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
themostpurple said: indias wayyyyy overpopulated..bring the heat imo
HAHA! you win at the humanitarian of the year!
-------------------- "What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?" "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'" "And why did that upset you?" "My name is Susan."
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wellage
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: themostpurple]
#12677162 - 06/03/10 07:19 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
themostpurple said: indias wayyyyy overpopulated..bring the heat imo
terribly stupid statement. A billion indians still use less resources than the US
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Kamek



Registered: 01/08/05
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: wellage]
#12677229 - 06/03/10 07:45 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
wellage said:
Quote:
themostpurple said: indias wayyyyy overpopulated..bring the heat imo
terribly stupid statement. A billion indians still use less resources than the US
Exactly! Good point!

Edit: Don't forget to take local temperatures into account as well. That's probably the reason why Canada is higher on the list than the USA.
Edited by Kamek (06/03/10 07:47 AM)
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Kamek



Registered: 01/08/05
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: Kamek]
#12677238 - 06/03/10 07:49 AM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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cryptic_pickle
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Re: Hundreds die in Indian heatwave [Re: Kamek]
#12680657 - 06/03/10 07:24 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Interesting how Germany would have similar temperatures to Canada. But their power usage is much lower. That could be attributed to this.
http://www.ises.org/sepconew/Pages/EE_Policy_in_Germany/2.html
"On 1 January 1995, the third version of the Thermal Insulation Ordinance came into force aimed at reducing heating requirements for new buildings by an average of about 30%, thus reducing CO2 emissions by a similar amount."
Anyway thats off topic. Back to OP's original post. Yeah this is pretty bad, I think its the first of many temperature / weather disasters we have coming. Due to greenhouse gas emissions IMO. This hurricane season is meant to be worse than that of hurricane Catrina. So those predictions coupled with the fact that there is a huge ammount of oil in the same region =
-------------------- "What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?" "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'" "And why did that upset you?" "My name is Susan."
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