FIRE-EARTH Alert: Air Pollution Emergency in Delhi, India

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FIRE-EARTH Alert: India Declares Air Pollution Emergency in Capital, Delhi

• Hazardous air pollutants exceed about 20 times the “safe limit” in the Indian Capital, Delhi, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency and close the schools for t least three days.

• Days of heavy smog have caused such massive buildup of harmful particles that air quality instruments cannot measure the pollution levels.

Major contributors to pollution levels include:

• City traffic
• Burning of agricultural waste in surrounding states of Haryana and Punjab
• Badarpur coal-fired power station (SE Delhi)
• Construction and demolition work
• Smoldering fires at the Capital’s Bhalswa landfill
• Diesel generators

Residents have been advised to stay indoor as much as they can and work from home.

• Details of the Alert are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Deadly Unrest in India Leaves 10 Million Without Water

Caste Riots in India Paralyzes a Northern State Kills at Least 19 People

The Indian Army has intervened to regain control of New Delhi’s water supply following days of deadly rioting and looting by Jats, a rural caste, which is demanding better access to government jobs.

Delhi government has announced closure of schools on Monday as part of water rationing to deal with crisis

With water supply to the national capital, Delhi, under threat amid the ongoing Jat agitation for quota, the Haryana government on Sunday rushed paramilitary forces and technical teams to Sonepat. However, reports coming in suggested that the teams were not able to wrest control of Munak canal. Thousands of protesters forced the security personnel including Army men to retreat.

Jat protesters have laid siege to the Akbarpur-Barota point and taken over control of the local irrigation office at Munak canal — a major source of water supply to Delhi.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/haryana-rushes-teams-to-restore-water-supply-to-delhi/article8264762.ece

Road-melting Heat Kills at least 800 across India

Death toll mounts in India’s near 50-degree heat

An intense heatwave has killed at least 806 people across India melting roads in the capital New Delhi as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees).

Official death toll is as follows (the real toll may be much higher).
In the worst-hit state of Andhra Pradesh, in the south, 551 people have died over the past week with temperatures exceeding 47ºC on Monday.

In the bordering state of Telangana, at least 231 people have died, with temperatures reported in excess of 48ºC over the weekend.

The heatwave has also killed 11 people in the western state of Orissa, and 13 others in the eastern state of West Bengal.

Meantime, India’s Meteorological Department has issued a “Red Box” warning for several states on Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasting maximum temperatures above 45ºC.

Maximum temperature in the capital reached a high of 45.5ºC on Monday, some five degrees above the seasonal average.

National High and Low Temperature (for the contiguous U.S.)
NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park, MD
Issued 8 am EDT Tuesday, May 26, 2015

High Temperature for Monday, May 25, 2015

• 39ºC  (102 degrees) at Death Valley, CA

Low Temperature for Tuesday, May 26, 2015

• -1ºC (31 degrees) at Grants-Milan, NM

Deadly Heatwave Kills Hundreds in India

Temperatures approach 50ºC (122ºF) in parts of India

An intense heatwave has reportedly killed at least 500 people in India, with temperatures approaching 50ºC in some areas.

Most of the deaths have occurred in the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, said local media, with a dozen fatalities reported in the eastern state of West Bengal.

• Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded 48ºC.
• Delhi, the Indian Capital, recorded 44ºC.
• Most of the recorded fatalities have occurred as a result of extreme dehydration and heatstroke.

Deadly Heatwave Continues to Plague India

EXTREME CLIMATIC EVENTS
DEADLY HEATWAVE
RECORD HEAT
MAJOR DISASTER
SCENARIOS 777, 444, 111
.

Record heatwave kills dozens, possibly hundreds in India

Seven consecutive days of extreme temperatures in Delhi, world’s second most populous urban agglomeration with a population of about 25 million, has pushed up the ground ozone levels by more than 3 folds.

Temperatures have been hovering above 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) since last week, amid night-long outages.

“Residents staged sit-in protests outside electricity substations in the state of Uttar Pradesh late on Wednesday, days after protesters had set substations on fire and taken power officials hostage after weeks of daily blackouts,” reported Reuters.

“God alone can provide any relief from the prevailing power crisis,” said the director of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation,. adding that power would only return after the monsoon arrived and demand fell.

Much of Delhi has been experiencing long blackouts after a surge in demand and damage from a thunderstorm overwhelmed the grid, said the report.

More Extreme Events

“We are witnessing more serious and more extreme events,” said spokesperson for India’s Center for Science and Environment (CSE).

Dozens of unidentified bodies have been discovered in Delhi since Monday.