Tag: Monsoon

India Faced with Intense Heat Wave

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A heat wave has taken hold across much of India in the past few weeks and will continue to do so before monsoon season arrives next week.

[map autofit=”1″ disable_scrollwheel=”1″] [pin]Bhubneshwar[/pin] [pin]Andhra Pradesh[/pin] [pin]Rajasthan[/pin] [/map]

A weak ridge aloft has allowed extreme heat to build into the region while tropical dewpoints over 25°C remain in place. With these temperatures and dewpoints combined, several locations in Eastern India, like Bhubneshwar, have seen humidex values above 55°C – signifying heat stroke is probable with any time spent outside. Not only that, but overnight lows stayed well above 30°C for several days in some regions, providing no relief to the residents. Additionaly, dust storms have been taking place across the drought stricken areas in the north. In Rajasthan, a dust storm killed seven people two weeks ago. Heat waves can be crushing to developing countries, such as India, resulting in exponentially more deaths and damages compared to first world countries as residents have limited access to clean drinking water to hydrate themselves, never mind air conditioned houses.

Asphalt was literally melting away on New Delhi roads due to high temperatures this week. (Source: Rappler)
Asphalt was literally melting away on New Delhi roads due to high temperatures this week. (Source: Rappler)

Over half of the deaths (1,334 deaths) associated with the heatwave came from the Andhra Pradesh province, while the most recent overall death tally reached 1,826 people. This, according to Jeff Masters of Weather Underground,  is the fifth deadliest heat wave in world history since record keeping began and second deadliest to India (deadliest was 1998). Water shortages were the main problem leading to dehydration and heat stroke; to combat this, the country brought in water tankers and aid to over 4,000 towns in the hardest hit areas.

Help might be on the way however. The seasonal rains that India experiences, called monsoonal rains, are advancing northwestward towards the heat-stricken provinces. These will not only bring much needed moisture to the region, but also allow temperatures to drop well below what India has been experiencing past few weeks. The few weeks preceding the monsoonal season typically do bring heat waves and dry weather to India, but some years are harsher and last longer than others.

Elsewhere in Weather News: September 13th, 2014

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Severe Flooding in Northern India and Pakistan

Flooding has been the story for both last weekend and this week as heavy monsoonal rains fell across northern India and Pakistan, having its strongest impact in the Kashmir, Jammu provinces and Jhang district. In this case, the heavy monsoonal rains were caused by very moist air advecting in from the Bay of Bengal due to a low pressure system located in northern India. This moist air was then lifted as it interacted with the rugged terrain of northern India and fell as heavy rain. Satellite estimates show that over 350mm fell in the hardest hit areas in a 7 day period, resulting in rivers overflowing their banks and putting residents at risk.

Satellite image of the low pressure system over northern India; combined with orographic lift, it made for heavy rain in the region. Taken on September 5th. (Source: NASA via Wunderground)
Satellite image of the low pressure system over northern India; combined with orographic lift, it made for heavy rain in the region. Taken on September 5th. (Source: NASA via Wunderground)

According to news outlets, 5,000 rescues had to be executed in the flooded region as people scrambled to higher ground. When floodwaters will have receded damages will be significant; about 980 villages in the region have seen flooding problems. On Friday night it was reported that 461 people have died due to the flooding with 600 more injured. Some 60,000 residents continue to evacuate to higher ground, not only in concern of flooding waters but also infrastructure being washed out leading to significant transportation problems for food and clean water. In developing countries the residents are typically affected by not only the initial disaster, but also the aftermath of the disaster. This is the case here as water borne diseases are of great concern to officials and will be a true threat to some residents as floodwaters recede. It’s estimated that over one million people have already been affected by this disaster.

In other news several tropical disturbances have formed in the Atlantic, including a tropical storm in the mid-Atlantic. These should be watched in the next few days, however, there is fairly strong shear in the region currently which is causing problems for these storms to develop further.

Elsewhere in Weather News: September 15th, 2012

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Pakistan Monsoon Flooding

Severe flooding occurred in Pakistan early this past week, after monsoon rains moved into the region and dropped large amounts of rain. Even though Pakistani officials had issued a flood warning for many low-lying areas such as Punjab and Sindh, many residents decided to stay put to battle out the floods in their villages.

As numerous canals and rivers overflowed their banks because of the heavy monsoon rains, many low-lying areas such as farmland, villages and roads were inundated with water. The highest rainfall report that could be found was in Rahimyar Khan where 193mm fell in 24 hours between Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th.

Pakistan flooding

Two satellite images (visible/IR enhanced) showing the difference between no flooding and severe flooding in Pakistan. Notice the dark blues along the Indus River. (Source: NASA)

About 1,500 houses were destroyed in the process and over 100 people perished with waters rising quickly and houses collapsing from waters. The country’s army was deployed to execute search and rescue missions in the hardest hit areas, and to try to fill in the areas where water broke through the canals.

Flooding

Picture showing the flooded houses in the town of Larkana located in the region of Sindh. (Source: APP)

Estimated total losses look to be in the neighbourhood of a couple million, though it’s difficult to assess at this time as authorities are still tallying up the damages and looking for survivors. When the floodwaters recede, most likely in a couple days, the final tally from the total economic loss and death toll should be more accurate. This monsoon season does not compare to 2010 though, where numerous severe flooding events occurred and residents described that year as “the worst in living memory”. In 2010 the total structure damage that accounted for four billion in damages and the floods had a significant impact on 20 million people with around 2,000 deaths.

The monsoon rains have since moved away a couple days ago from the region of concern and crews will be able to clean up, repair villages and search for more survivors this weekend.