The IMD also issued a health advisory to the public warning against lung-related health impacts due to dense fog and cold wave…reports Asian Lite News
The cold wave continues to tightened its grip over Delhi-NCR with the minimum temperature recorded at 7.3 degrees on Thursday morning, as per India Meteorological Department data.
The maximum temperature is expected to be around 15 degrees in the national capital today and the fog conditions are likely to decrease in the next two days, the IMD said.
While IMD said that the cold wave is likely to persist for the next 2-3 days in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
As per IMD data, fog conditions were observed over Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, and Bihar and dense fog prevailed over Madhya Pradesh and Tripura while the Jammu division experienced moderate fog conditions.
The air quality in several parts of Delhi remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday, as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.
According to the CPCB data, the Air Quality Index was recorded at 379 in RK Puram on Thursday morning, 312 in Lodhi Road, 377 ITO area and 387 in the IGI Airport area.
As per IMD, cold day to severe cold day conditions are likely to continue over some parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan during the next two days and decrease thereafter.
Also, IMD said that dense to very dense fog is likely to continue over some parts of the plains of Northwest and East India during the next two days and gradually decrease thereafter.
A rise by 2-3 degrees in minimum temperatures is likely over many parts of Central and East India during the next 3 days and no significant change thereafter, the IMD said.
The IMD also issued a health advisory to the public warning against lung-related health impacts due to dense fog and cold wave.
“Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath,” the IMD said.
Warning against eye irritation, IMD said that pollutants in the air if exposed may tend to irritate the membranes of the eye causing various infections leading to redness or swelling of the eye. (ANI)
A man refreshes himself at a water fountain in Rome, Italy, July 22, 2022. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua/IANS)
Excess deaths associated with the heat in Europe exceeded 15,000 in total across Spain, Germany, the UK, France, and Portugal.
Temperatures in Europe have increased in the past few years – the highest of any continent in the world resulting in 15,700 deaths across Europe linked to heatwaves in 2022, according to the World Meteorological Organization report.
Record-breaking heat waves affected Europe during the summer. In some areas, extreme heat was coupled with exceptionally dry conditions. Excess deaths associated with the heat in Europe exceeded 15,000 in total across Spain, Germany, the UK, France, and Portugal. The global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15 (1.02 to 1.28)°C above the 1850-1900 average. The years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest in the instrumental record back to 1850. 2022 was the 5th or 6th warmest year. This was despite three consecutive years of a cooling La Nina – such a “triple-dip” La Nina has happened only three times in the past 50 years, said the report.
WMO provides information on rising temperatures, land and marine heatwaves, extreme weather, changing precipitation patterns, and retreating ice and snow.
The State of the Global Climate 2022 shows the planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. For global temperature, the years 2015-2022 were the eight warmest on record despite the cooling impact of a La Nina event for the past three years. Melting of glaciers and sea level rise – which again reached record levels in 2022 – will continue for up to thousands of years, added the WMO report.
Visitors tour the square in front of Louvre Musuem in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Gao Jing/IANS)
“While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events. For example, in 2022, continuous drought in East Africa, record-breaking rainfall in Pakistan and record-breaking heatwaves in China and Europe affected tens of millions, drove food insecurity, boosted mass migration, and cost billions of dollars in loss and damage,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof Petteri Taalas.
As the climate continues to change, European people’s health is expected to be impacted in many ways, including death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
Increases in zoonoses, where diseases are transmitted to humans from animals, are also expected along with food, water and vector-borne diseases, and a rising incidence of mental health disorders.
The deadliest extreme climate events in Europe come in the form of heat waves, particularly in western and southern countries.
The combination of climate change, urbanization and population ageing in the region creates, and will further exacerbate, vulnerability to heat.
A man refreshes himself at a fountain in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua/IANS)
The WMO State of the Global Climate report was released ahead of Earth Day 2023. Its key findings echo the message of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for Earth Day.
“We have the tools, the knowledge, and the solutions. But we must pick up the pace. We need accelerated climate action with deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We also need massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis,” said Guterres.
As the warming trend continues, exceptional heat, wildfires, floods and other climate change impacts will affect society, economies and ecosystems, according to a report released Wednesday by WMO.
Rainfall has been below average in five consecutive wet seasons, the longest such sequence in 40 years. As of January 2023, it was estimated that over 20 million people faced acute food insecurity across the region, under the effects of the drought and other shocks.
Record-breaking rain in July and August led to extensive flooding in Pakistan. There were over 1 700 deaths, and 33 million people were affected, while almost 8 million people were displaced. Total damage and economic losses were assessed at USD 30 billion, added the report.
As of 2021, 2.3 billion people faced food insecurity, of which 924 million people faced severe food insecurity. Projections estimated 767.9 million people facing undernourishment in 2021, 9.8 per cent of the global population. Half of these are in Asia and one-third are in Africa.
Climate change is also affecting recurring events in nature, such as when trees blossom, or birds migrate. Climate change has important consequences for ecosystems and the environment. For example, a recent assessment focusing on the unique high-elevation area around the Tibetan Plateau, the largest storehouse of snow and ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic, found that global warming is causing the temperate zone to expand. (ANI)
Forecasters predict the cold weather could last a week, as the northerly flow will linger and there may be some showers, though it will be largely dry and cold…reports Asian Lite News
Temperatures are set to plummet below -8C (17.6F) in parts of the UK by the middle of the week, with the Met Office issuing a warning for heavy snow in Scotland.
An Arctic chill is expected to sweep the country, bringing with it below-average temperatures for the time of year as winter begins to bite, with easterly winds expected to shift to the north.
The Met Office has put a yellow snow warning in place for Wednesday, which it says may cause disruption to road, bus and train journeys.
Alex Burkill, Met Office meteorologist, said: “At the moment we have an easterly flow and as such our winds are coming from the east and that is a cold direction, and it is cold out.
“However, from Tuesday onwards we are going to get a northerly flow, so our winds coming from the north, that is Arctic air leading to our temperatures dropping even further as we go through this week. It’s going to turn even colder and feel even colder still, with temperatures well below average for the time of year, both by day and by night.”
Burkill added that temperatures overnight into Thursday would drop to -7C (19.4F) or -8C (17.6F), and maybe even colder.
“It looks like the cold is going to be very widespread, perhaps Northern Ireland and East Anglia won’t be that cold, maybe just a degree or two below freezing,” he said.
“Otherwise we are talking about several degrees below freezing across Scotland, Wales.”
He said much of England, including the South West, could also see exceptionally cold temperatures of -5C (23F) or -6C (21.2F).
“We have a snow warning across the northern half of Scotland for Wednesday and that is when the snow showers coming from the north will be most impactful,” Birkall added.
“They will probably start on Tuesday, and we will see very significant snow in the north.”
Forecasters predict the cold weather could last a week, as the northerly flow will linger and there may be some showers, though it will be largely dry and cold.
Temperatures dropped to -3.8C (25.16F) at Drumnadrochit near Inverness on Saturday night, but temperatures should remain at around -2C (28.4F) at night in Scotland for the next few days.
It will be a few degrees above freezing for the rest of the country until the cold snap arrives on Wednesday.
Daytime temperatures are predicted to be around 8C (46.4F) or 9C (48.2F), dropping to 5C (41F) or 6C (42.8F) as the week progresses.
