Skymet weather

Weather in major airports of India today

New Delhi, The weather in Delhi airport is usually affected by fog during this time of the year. Here’s an update on fog in Indian airports along with fog in Delhi airport.

Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi

Flight take offs and arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport would remain on time, as weather in Delhi airport would be fog free. Fog in Delhi airport is unlikely to develop due to strong winds and less humidity in the air.

Sri Guru Ram Dass jee International airport Amritsar

Sri Guru Ram Dass jee International airport would be clear of foggy conditions and flights will be on time as visibility will be good. Minimum temperature is expected to rise, marginally.

Chaudhary Charan Singh International airport Lucknow

Lucknow airport would be fog free and flights will be on time. Fog chances are less due to change in winds direction. The visibility at the airport would be 1000m to 1200m during morning hours.

Lal Bahadur Shashtri Airport Varanasi

Lal Bahadur Shashtri Airport in Varanasi would also be free of fog.

Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan airport Patna

Patna will have moderate fog for a short duration from 3am to 6am.

Netaji Subash Chandra Bose airport Kolkata

Kolkata may have shallow fog that would not affect rail, road or air traffic.

Bangaluru International airport

Bangaluru airport in the south could have shallow to moderate foggy conditions during the morning hours between 6am to 8am.

In general, fog in Indian airports is not likely to affect air traffic, as the weather conditions this year are not yet conducive for fog formation.

Photograph by Shashanka Nanda

Importance of Yamuna in Indian ecosystem

River Yamuna is one of the biggest rivers to flows through the world's largest river basin- the Ganges river basin. A population of 500 million depends on this river basin, which is spread over nearly 10,86,000 square kilometers. The river basin is also the land of one of the most ancient known civilizations. But the government as well as international studies are now suggesting that this river system which has had religious, political and ecological importance, is now dead.

The government of India claims on its website that the river Yamuna does not have a single drop of natural water after it flows through Delhi. The United Nations website in one of its report declares it as a dead river. People in the country who’ve had even one look at this river would tell you the same.

The ecological impact on river Yamuna has been immense-with the aquatic life disappearing by the day. Fish, turtles, alligators and other such life dependent on fresh river water are dying in the toxic industrial pollutants and sewage dumped in Yamuna. The Taj Mahal, situated on its banks is under threat, as conservationists fear a dry river Yamuna would weaken the wood-based foundation of the Taj Mahal, which requires moisture.

The Lancet, a British medical journal claims in an article that a bacteria found in New Delhi drinking water carries a gene, NDM-1 (New Delhi metallobetalactamase), for an enzyme that conveys resistance to almost all known antibiotics. Resistant bacteria turned up “in public water used for drinking, washing and food preparation and also in pools and rivulets in heavily populated areas where children play. An estimated 500,000 people in New Delhi now carry resistant bacteria.

Medical fraternity is concerned about the rapid spread of this form of bacteria resistance that can imperil all kinds of routine medical procedures that depend on the ability to treat infections. This could lead to the crumbling of the whole edifice of modern medicine. This bacteria resistance could spread to all the towns and villages downstream of Delhi.

Cleaning the river Yamuna is the responsibility of the Government, which is legally bound by law to provide safe drinking water to its citizens. The courts have passed several judgments on the issue of providing clean drinking waters in towns/cities situated on the banks of River Yamuna but all this has proven to be a futile exercise as a dirty Yamuna is becoming dirtier with each passing day.

Photograph by DOTW News

Night temperatures likely fall in east, central India; snowfall likely to increase in northwest hills

New Delhi, Night temperatures are expected to dip by 2 to 3 degrees during the next 24 hours over Gangetic plains of east India as well central India. Snowfall would continue over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next 48 hours. Rain would also be received over northeastern states after a couple of days. The southern tips of the country would receive light rain during the next 24 hours.

East and central India would continue to remain in the grip of northerly winds that are bringing a chilling affect to the region. Hence, the minimum temperatures, which are below normal by 2 to 3 degrees may further plunge in the same range during the next 24 hours over these parts.

The mix up of these northerly winds with the easterly moist winds from the Bay of Bengal is creating foggy conditions, which are expected to continue over east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and northeast during the next 24 hours. Moderate fog will affect traffic during the morning hours. Fog is likely to reduce thereafter.

In the northwest, the Western Disturbance over Jammu & Kashmir is expected to move out thus reducing snow and rain in the region. Yet, a few places over Jammu & Kashmir and at one or two places over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are expected to receive snow and rain during the next 24 hours.

Snowfall or rainfall activity would again pick up after this period as a fresh disturbance is approaching the region. The eastward moving weather system is now placed over north Pakistan.

So, the fall in the minimum temperatures over northwest hills and plains would be arrested but the day temperatures could break free to rise marginally because of clouding during the next 24 hours over these regions.

In south Peninsula, southern coastal Tamil Nadu and Kerala along with Lakshadweep Islands will see light rain as a cyclonic circulation exists over Lakshadweep Islands. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands would also receive rain at a few places during the next 24 hours.

Photograph by IANS

‘Winter’ and ‘Shaadis’

India, a country of numerous festivals, sees not just the season of Diwali or Holi but also the ‘shaadi’ season. The magic of this season lies in the fun and frolic it brings, and the pomp and show it is carried out with. And this is why you can’t miss it at any cost. It is estimated that every year 10 million weddings take place in India. Out of this which more than half of the weddings take place in the months between October and February since most people prefer winter marriages. Dressing in winter for winter marriages is a different experience altogether as people enjoy wearing heavy sequined and bordered clothes in dark, deep colors. And we ‘Dilliwallas’ are so used to the ‘Delhi ki sardi’ that besides suits, saris and heavy anarkalis, bold backless blouses are also a rage.

When we asked our readers (to be brides and grooms, the already wedded and people who attend weddings) about what they prefer more, marriage in winter, marriage in the summers or a sexy monsoon wedding, most opted for a marriage in winterand some for a Bollywood style monsoon wedding in a wet place and the least votes went to the dry summer weddings. Priyanka Jindal, a bride-to-be strongly recommends winter marriages, “Marriage is a very crucial thing in a girl’s life and she dreams of it being perfect. I would hate to sweat on my wedding wearing a heavy embellished ‘lehenga’ in the summers.” Dressing in winter might seem simple as the markets are loaded with plenty of wedding attires, but even then let alone the wedding clothes, even choosing right party dress in winter can be a bit tricky. So here’s a small piece of advice for those who get confused with the ample variety at a showroom. Golden rule for dressing in winter, keep it simple!

1) For the ‘ring ceremony’, wear a simple pink or orange saree, crape saree, chose silk if you like.

2) A ‘Cocktail’ is much more casual and lively. Enjoy it by flaunting your favorite, body hugging, plain-black knee length dress. Nothing can beat this sexy outfit!

3) If you’re attending a ‘mehendi’ function just wear a plain red suit with a broad or very broad, golden border and you will look stunning with no need of any jewelry.

4) Dressing in winter for the D-day, the grand wedding, without catching a cold is not as tough as you imagined. Wear a heavy embroidered lehenga, embellished with pearls, stones, crystals, sequins, Swarovski stones, heavy zardozi work in dark colors like maroon, purple, dark red and green and dark pink and orange in a ghaghra choli or a fish cut style or the sharara style. This will not just make you stand out in the crowd at a wedding but will easily protect you from the cold if not keep you entirely warm because of the heavy work on it. Glittering south nalli silk with big golden borders is ‘in’ this winter as famous celebrities too have been seen flaunting this look.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, on the night of November 27 at least 60,000 couples tied the knot in the romantic Delhi winter of 2011. This year too, November month earned the position of the ‘shaadi month of the year’, with 30,000 weddings taking place in Delhi and another 30,000 in Mumbai incidentally causing 3 to 4 hour long traffic jams on the highways. Famous and most followed celebrity couples too were seeing tying the knot this year. The Saifina wedding, being the most happening of all. Other popular shaadis were of Genelia and Ritesh and the ‘Dirty Picture’ heroine Vidya Balan for whom the definition of dressing in winter means only and only Kanjeevaram silks with Pashminas.

Our country’s jewelry market is worth more than 600 billion rupees, half of which is spent on weddings. ‘Thus our shaadi season is not just a festival but typically a booming business in which wealthy ‘Dilliwallahs’ are seen spending lavishly and the band just keeps growing fatter’!

Photograph by Ankur Phougat.

Noodles, Pasta under threat from rising temperatures

Pasta and noodles are made from wheat. And rising temperatures, increasing storms and droughts in the years ahead, will hit this wheat hard. Though danger is also looming large for corn and rice but as wheat is a cool season crop, it stands to fare the worst in the years ahead. Wheat grain is most vulnerable to high temperatures that are negative for its growth and quality.

According to a professor at North Dakota State University, a mere 1 degree Fahrenheit rise in global temperature has brought down the world wheat production by 5.5 percent over the past 50 years. Scientists project the world wheat-bowls such as the U.S, Canadian Midwest, northern China, India, Russia, and Australia will experience every other year a hotter summer, hotter than even the hottest summer till now on record, on an average. Wheat production in that period could decline between 23 and 27 percent.

Hurricane Sandy’s recent devastation of New York and neighboring states reminded us that global warming is possibly making weather more extreme, which can imperil the very foundation of human existence: our ability to feed ourselves.

Photograph by Michael

Winter can possibly cause high blood pressure

Did you know if you are a heart patient and have a persistent blood pressure problem, the winter season could bring you trouble? Falling temperatures and the damp air in these months can cause an uneasy and unhealthy rise in high blood pressure, especially in the elderly. This was proved in a new study that was done linking high blood pressure with cooler/colder climate. This is not the first time such seasonal variations in blood pressure are noticed, but this new study now makes clear that these dropping degrees can increase the risk of the already at risk, elderly population.

In this survey carried out in France, researchers analyzed seasonal variation in blood pressure in 8000 adults aged above 65 over two years and the results showed significant seasonal variation in the high blood pressure readings, from 23.8% in the summers to 33.4% in the winter. These readings showed a rise in both the systolic and diastolic or top and bottom numbers and the average systolic blood pressure remained 5 points higher in the winter than in summer. Researcher Annick Alperovitch MD of Institut National de la Sante et de Recherche Medicale, Paris, says it is understandable that these temperature variations are most common in people of older age because their immunity levels are weaker and therefore are particularly susceptible to various health troubles and diseases. He also adds "Mechanisms that could explain the association between blood pressure and temperature remain undetermined." Reasons for this variation though can be linked to the release of a hormone called catecholamine, which increases blood pressure by speeding the heart rate and decreasing the responsiveness of the blood vessels and the individual’s psychological state and stress levels.

This study can help immensely in explaining seasonal variation in case of death from a sudden stroke or a blood vessel rupture as the risk of stroke is highest in the elderly. Your health is in your hands therefore by paying attention towards a proper lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise people in the advancing years can at least reduce the chances of a contingency if not totally avoid it.

Photograph by Joanne Cleland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Railways to strengthen inquiry system to track trains during fog

New Delhi, It's December and in the coming days, the possible foggy conditions could grip the nation for at least a month or a half, affecting the transportation system at large. Railways has been hit hard by such conditions in the recent years but it is now trying to strengthen its inquiry system by introducing specific telephone numbers and SMS-based fog update to track arrival and departure of trains.

From now on, besides the existing 139, one can dial the MTNL telephone number 23747110 to know trains positions during foggy weather conditions. An SMS-based train inquiry number 9717631813 has been provided for New Delhi, Old Delhi, Nizamuddin, Anand Vihar and Sarai Rohilla stations. Arrival and departure of trains from these stations can be found out by using the SMS-based inquiry system during foggy weather.

Passengers can message the five-digit train number to the given mobile number and the expected arrival or departure of train from Delhi stations will be messaged back to the passenger by the system automatically within a few seconds. The Railways has also advised passengers to use the system before leaving for the stations during this seasons foggy days.

 

Photograph by WN/Aruna Mirasdar

Minimum temperatures to dip in the north; rain to continue over extreme south, northeast

New Delhi, The week long affect of Western Disturbances over northwest parts of the country would come to an end during the next 48 hours. The minimum temperatures are expected to dip by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperatures would rise a bit during the next two days over northwest India. Extreme southern parts of Peninsula would continue to receive rain during the next 24 hours. Rain would pick up in the northeast during the next 48 hours.

Heavy snowfall or rain is expected at one or two places in the next 24 hours over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Many places would receive light to moderate snowfall or rain during this period. Snowfall or rain activities are expected to lessen thereafter. Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh would receive rain at one or two places.

The weather conditions would turn dry and cooler after the next 24 to 48 hours. The sky will become partly cloudy to mainly clear. The northerly winds, which are expected to be cooler due to melting of the snow, would resume over northwest India. This will marginally drop the minimum temperatures. Under the open sky, day temperatures would also rise a bit during this period. And this rise would lead to melting of snow over the hills.

The Western Disturbance lies over Jammu & Kashmir and would move out of the region during this period. The Western Disturbance would affect the northeastern states in a day or two when it reaches by December 16 as a cyclonic circulation.

In the south, southern parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala along with Lakshadweep Islands will receive rain at one or two places during the next 24 hours. The cyclonic circulation over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Comorin area is now placed over Lakshadweep Islands.

Photograph by Sahil Nagpal

Ways to escape lightning during wet conditions

New Delhi, Lightning killed six persons and injured five others in separate incidents in Orissa on December 12. An unseasonal rain accompanied by gale speed reaching 70 to 80 kmph lashed the port town of Paradip where three victims including a couple had taken shelter under a tree when lightning struck, while three women (farm labourers) died working in the farm lands nearby Kendrapara district.

These unfortunate incidents remind us of our unawareness about lightning. But these deaths affirm that it can be deadly and devastating.  Here we suggest ways to deal with lightning, its cause and affect and how to escape it when the weather calls upon lightning strikes:

What is Lightning?

Lightning is a powerful force of nature, but few truly understand exactly what it is. Lightning is electricity that is discharged from a cloud. It is like when you rub your shoes on the carpet on a dry day. Imagine that you are the cloud. There is static electricity in you, waiting to escape. The next person you touch (or any metal object) is the ground. Zap! You feel the jolt, and you may even see the light arching between your finger and the ground sometimes. Lightning is the same, on a much larger scale though.

Lightning is somewhat lazy, and will take the shortest path, striking the tallest object. That is why lightning strikes lightning rods, they are conductors and the tallest things around. The lightning rod diverts the electricity into the dirt, where it is harmless. There is no way to completely stop lightning, but if you're careful, you can avoid injury or death.

Ways to escape Lightning

  • Open areas like fields, golf courses, or parking lots should be avoided, as at these places you are the tallest thing around, hence the easiest target.
  • Stay away from forms of metal. Lightning is electricity and metal is a conductor of electricity. So are you. You and the metal together make a fine target.
  • Stop swimming and get away from water. Water is a conductor.
  • Don’t stand under tall objects like trees or towers. As tall objects, these are easy targets, and the electricity might jump to you too.
  • Don’t fly kites.
  • Don’t carry an umbrella. You may get soaked if it starts raining, but it's better than high voltage running through your body.
  • Find a car and get in it. Cars are very safe places to be during lightning storms. Even though it is metal and seems like a perfect target, if it is struck the electricity will conduct through metal in the car, and around your body, not through it, and into the ground.
  • If you get caught in an open field during a lightning storm, find a ditch to lie in if possible. If not, crouch down with your head between your knees (and don’t lie flat). Try to become as small as possible.

 

Photograph by weatherpix stock images

Heavy snowfall likely in J&K; cooler days ahead for northwest India

New Delhi, Snowfall and rain would pick up again in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during the next 24 hours and would continue for next 72 hours. Rain would also be experienced in the plains of northwest India. Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh would receive rain during the next 24 to 48 hours. East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and sub-Himalayan West Bengal would continue to reel under fog cover during the next couple of days.

Heavy snowfall or rain during the next three days is possible over Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Snowfall would be heavier in higher altitudes while lower areas would witness heavy rain during this period.

The sky will be covered from Jammu & Kashmir up to Delhi and West Uttar Pradesh during the next two to three days. The region would be devoid of sunshine that will drop the maximum temperature by several notches during this period. But night will be more comfortable in these parts as the cool northwesterly winds are not present to drop the minimum temperatures, which are likely to rise by 2 to 3 degrees during this period.

The above mentioned weather conditions are due to the presence of the Western Disturbances which is expected to arrive over Jammu & Kashmir during the next 24 hours. The weather system is hovering over north Pakistan and it is moving in an east-northeastward direction.

The other Western Disturbance that was affecting the region during the last two days has moved out in an east-northeastward direction. This system, which is an upper air system, is expected to reach over the northeastern states during the next 24 hours. Under its influence, it would rain at a few places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya. One or two places in Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura will receive rain during the next two days.

The northwesterly winds in the lower level over Gangetic plains would continue to mix up with the moist southeasterly winds from the Bay of Bengal and will give rain at one or two places over Jharkhand, Orissa and Gangetic West Bengal during the next 24 hours.

But areas towards north of this region, like Bihar and sub-Himalayan West Bengal along with east Uttar Pradesh, are within the bounds of direct and slow moving northerly winds that are meeting the moist easterly winds and creating foggy conditions. Fog will prevail over these places during the next 24 to 36 hours.

Southern Peninsula is experiencing strong northeasterly to easterly winds to which there is no confrontation, therefore, rain will remain aloft in the region but southern extreme parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala will continue to witness light rain at one or two places during the next 24 hours.

Photograph by Reuters

Coastal tube defence against tidal surges in Orissa

New Delhi, The ruined breakwater on Pentha’s beach in Orissa will soon give way to a new coastal defence system – a 675 metre geotextile tube (or geotube) embedded in the shore to form an embankment that will help protect the community and its neighbouring villages from erosion caused by shifting tides and storm surges.

The geotube embankment is designed to dissipate the force of storm surges, allowing other embankments to deflect the weakened tidal surge. At Pentha, a “bio-shield” of mangroves and similar species will act as a second line of defence behind the new embankment, along with an existing mud and stonewall beyond it.

The new embankment is a pilot scheme initiated in 2009 by the federal environment and forests ministry as part of a statewide Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP). With 2.27 billion Indian rupees ($41 million) of funding from the World Bank, the program aims eventually to benefit 235 coastal villages with a total of 400,000 residents.

In the past two years alone, huge waves have destroyed two 7-metre high (23 feet) embankments and eroded 20 hectares (49 acres) of farmland in this village in Odisha state on India’s eastern coast, threatening homes and agricultural land.

Cyclones have wreaked devastation in Odisha numerous times in living memory. By far the worst was the cyclone of 1999, which killed 10,000 people across the state. The storm surge was more than 11 metres (36 feet) and uprooted what little remained of the mangroves standing between the encroaching tides and Pentha, penetrating the Mahanadi river system and causing serious flooding inland.

Photograph by PTI

Eat chocolates to keep yourself warm in the winter

‘Never be more than twelve steps away from a chocolate’, this goes for all those chocolate lovers out there. Who doesn’t love chocolates? We all devour it. Though there’s never a season to eat chocolates but there is definitely a season in which you can splurge. It’s winters!  As a rule winters are dull, morose and lazy. The weather is always grey and monotonous outside. Plus, if the winter cold gets you down, you become even slower. But we know how to make you feel better. Just overeat chocolates!

Researchers in the U.K found that chocolates may be a natural cough suppressant. Out of the 300 patients that suffered from chronic cough, 60% felt better after they were given a dose of the theobromine, found in cocoa. These findings showed that theobromine is actually more effective than codeine, a common ingredient in cough medicines.

According to the study, patients were given 1,000 mg of theobromine, which is equal to two ounces of unsweetened dark chocolate or sixteen ounces of milk chocolate. Though researches say there is no word on whether eating chocolate or eating theobromine alone can stave off your cough, we’d definitely like to believe that eating a bar or two is definitely worth a shot.

Not to forget the magical smell of chocolates that wont keep you warm but can increase your brain waves significantly and relax your body. This is why chocolates are heavily used in spa treatments especially in the colder months.

Photograph by Tim Sackton

 







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