Hundreds die in Indian heatwave

Hundreds die in Indian heatwave

www.guardian.co.uk

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.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So here we have 122 degree weather already in India. Conversely my state of Georgia experienced the coldest winter on record this year.

I've always been pseudo-skeptical of the global warming issue and the article doesn't mention the phrase "global warming", but the climate appears to be changing for the worse in India at least.

Either way, India is in bad shape evidently. Lakes are drying up, people and wildlife are dying and hospitals are filling up.



www.guardian.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by traditionaldrummer


Wow 50C is hot indeed. Having been through 42C temperatures just last week I can imagine how oppressive this must be for the elderly and children especially.

Keep in mind that most news papers exagerate, and its probably only 50C once the humidex is taken into account. Not that it makes it any better for the population, but india is made up of like 7 different climatic regions, some of which are among the warmest and wettest places in the world. Droughts and "failed monsoon seasons" are not uncommon.

Source

My point is, I highly doubt this is global warming and places are setting temperature records all the time. The earth is something like 4.5 billion years old and we've only been keeping detailed records for about 200 years.

On another note, its a shame people are still dying from causes like this that seem so preventable. Makes me appreciate my country and the fact that I can sit in comfortable air conditioning when it's dangerously hot outside.

reply to post by Hatcookie

Makes me appreciate my country and the fact that I can sit in comfortable air conditioning when it's dangerously hot outside.

R e a l l y ? ?

Not even the slightest bit concerned that the power needed to run that AC might come from a source that is contributing to the environmental issues???

Yep. Enjoy your comforts at someone else's expense.

Also in India the powercut is very much high. Other than the capital of the states all regions have powercuts everyday. In town region with about 1-5 million population 3 hours powercut officially they say but more many times. In a smaller town 5-6 hours regular cut everyday. In absolute rural regions the powercut duration 8 hours sometimes 12-15 hours. Also the voltage they give is also many times extremely low. Its like hell with this heat. All thanks to the corrupt government. In the state where i live politicians are involved in scams in billions of us $ and deposit it in swiss accounts,cayman islands and some other banks abroad. So they are not really worried about how solve the people problem except filling their swiss accounts. Only in a single scam A minister from state earned 12billion us $ making a huge loss for government. Even now he continues to be in the post.

I once knew an old soldier who argued for the 'one world government' theory based on him having visited more countries than I have ever even heard of, and saying that excepting a few, most of the world lives in such hideous conditions with such hideous and corrupt goverment that anything even close to akin to what we've got would revolutionize their lives. That was a debate point I'd not before heard I admit, but this post made me think of it.


122 degrees, holy crap. When it's like 88 here in the Ozarks, it is miserable with humidity. My AC died and even sitting 3' from a good fan it's not fun, and if I don't get it fixed or get window units I really *might* die at the heat of summer. I tried that the first year I lived here. My computers constantly glitched from the heat, and you could lay naked in front of a fan and still be awake at 2am actively dripping sweat in misery. I grew up in a super temperate mid-southern coastal california climate so I'm a weather wimp.

I feel so sorry for people living in unbearable heat, let alone with unbearable governing conditions that leave them without the money/tech/power to deal with it. It is such a shame that a little more population management can't happen on our planet and enable some better distribution of resources. Sucks for India, for sure.

RC

reply to post by Hatcookie


Its a good thing we have people like you around to put us back on earth but you were kinda speaking against your own statement... yes we've only been gathering data for 200 years but fact remains that we are setting alot of records lately... wasn't this winter the most extreme for ALOT of different country's? I agree that there is no use panicking over this, but isn't it wise to not just write things off as "normal" and just try to keep an open mind? It could mean nothing but it could also mean ALOT... onlyh time will tell but dont expect me to be caught offguard.. I am keeping a close eye on world-events and even though this temperature in india is not uncommon, for it to coincide with a volcano erupting, solar activity, the gulf oil spill and alot of other things all happening in a short time span I do think there is a just reason to be alert...

reply to post by wayno


Excuse me for taking advatage of something offered to me that makes mine and my families lives a little easier. If I look at it the way you see it, everything we do contributes in one form or another to "environmental issues at someone elses expense". Do you use plastic? Gas? Eat food treated with pesticides? Buy brand name clothes that were probably made from underpaid workers in some third world country or another? The list goes on and on.

Thanks Arthur.

Lots of people die in Chicago in the summer. In fact, It's just getting to be summer here, and many people are dying already violence due to heat due to it being hot.
Heat is an energy problem. fix it.
Oh we have insanely cold nasty winters here too.
Pretty much everywhere its going to be cold.
Cold is an energy problem. fix it.
on and on and on for ever and ever and ever.

Originally posted by faceoff85
reply to post by Hatcookie

 

Its a good thing we have people like you around to put us back on earth but you were kinda speaking against your own statement... yes we've only been gathering data for 200 years but fact remains that we are setting alot of records lately... wasn't this winter the most extreme for ALOT of different country's? I agree that there is no use panicking over this, but isn't it wise to not just write things off as "normal" and just try to keep an open mind? It could mean nothing but it could also mean ALOT... onlyh time will tell but dont expect me to be caught offguard.. I am keeping a close eye on world-events and even though this temperature in india is not uncommon, for it to coincide with a volcano erupting, solar activity, the gulf oil spill and alot of other things all happening in a short time span I do think there is a just reason to be alert...

I'm sorry, sometimes I can't write as well as I speak or my thoughts get jumbled as I'm writing them down so I apologise if I contradicted myself.

I just ment get across that I dont think this is man made global warming, and I dont think we've really been keeping track long enough to be able to know what kinds of highs and lows are really normal if you look at them spread out over a longer period of time. But of course, these are just my opinions.

As for keeping an open mind to all of the natural and unnatural events unfolding right now, I think I will try to take your advice, mostly because it is snowing ash right now where I live due to about 50 forest fires, and that's not something I have ever seen in MY short lifetime.



[edit on 5/31/2010 by Hatcookie]

Originally posted by Hatcookie
reply to post by wayno

 

Excuse me for taking advatage of something offered to me that makes mine and my families lives a little easier.

Don't get me wrong. I use AC too - just really sparingly. Much less than most people.

If I look at it the way you see it, everything we do contributes in one form or another to "environmental issues at someone elses expense". Do you use plastic?

Yes, as little as possible. I save empty glass jars to store stuff in.

Gas?

yes, as little as possible -- small car, walk or bike it when I can.

Eat food treated with pesticides?

Try not to. Grow some of my own organically. Compost. Buy organic to the extent I can.

Buy brand name clothes that were probably made from underpaid workers in some third world country or another? The list goes on and on.

Yep, the list goes on. Just don't get complacent about it. Feel a little guilty and do something to lessen the impact. Every little bit helps. Be on the right side of the equation; even you don't change the world all by yourself.

Together we can if we all do our bit.