While Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are some of the hottest pockets in India, other states like Gujarat, Rajasthan and adjoining parts of Delhi-NCR are increasingly reeling under severe hot weather.
While insufficient Monsoon during 2014 and 2015 has deteriorated the situation in Maharashtra where reservoirs are drying up rapidly, severe heat wave in India due to global warming and extreme weather is claiming valuable lives of common people. Indian Heatwave has gone down in the annals of history as it claimed lives of 2500 people in 2015. The year was also the warmest for the planet.
To add to the woes, 2016 was a scorcher from the beginning. While first two months were hottest on record globally, March did not bring any good omen either.
In fact, to India’s dismay the month brought the glimpse of scorching summer as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and interior parts of Karnataka witnessed heat wave and heat wave like conditions with temperature going as high as 42°C.
An analysis by Verisk MapleCroft in 2015 had suggested that over the course of just one generation, the heat stress felt in the worst-hit states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be felt across most of the country.
According to media reports, summer of 2016 will see above normal temperature.
Water Crisis Looms Large
Maharashtra has become most hit by drought with Marathwada region worst affected where reservoir water levels have come down to 5 per cent this year from 20 percent last year. According to Waterless in Marathwada series by Indian Express, residents of the eight districts that comprise Marathwada face an acute water crisis that is threatening to spiral out of control. As many as 2,189 tankers are currently supplying water to Marathwada’s villages and also to some small towns in the region, a record high.
Meeting the peak summer drinking water requirement also looks like an uphill task as country’s major reservoirs are barely 25 per cent full. With two-and-a-half months to go for the monsoon to arrive in the most parched areas, a hotter than the usual summer pose a serious threat.
Few days back, Latur in Marathwada was forced to impose section 144, forbidding assembly of more than 5 people near any water reservoir.
The tragic story of water crisis In India does not stop here. Report of water crisis is also coming from other states of India. For instance, as Kerala reports very high temperatures, several districts of the state are parched, with water reaching many villages once in 12 days, says a report by NDTV. With hot months yet to start, the year is touted to be the warmest ever.
Will Monsoon 2016 bring a respite?
The silver lining is likely to come from the weakening El Niño and a beneficial La Niña. As per an American scientific agency NOAA, there is 50 per cent probability of a La Niña which might give a normal Monsoon this year. A delayed, but good, Monsoon is what seems most likely now. Though an immediate solution to India’s water crisis is to address water management practices by regulating usage with effective legislation, tapping the Monsoon will also play a key role in tackling with India’s water scarcity caused by severe heat wave conditions.
Image Credit: BBC.com