Rapid urbanization, deforestation have intensified hot weather

Time of India

a day ago

The increasingly unbearable hot days and heatwaves in the northern part of India have affected the society at large. The rapid urbanization, deforestation, and other anthropogenic activities (human caused actions) have intensified these conditions.
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Changing land use and land cover, reshaped landscapes, and altered interactions between people and their surroundings are producing environmental impacts never witnessed before.
During May and June, temperatures exceed 40 °C. The higher temperatures in urban areas are due to absorption, later re-radiation and heat generation from concrete and stone built up areas. At the same time, natural cooling elements, forests, water bodies, grasslands, soil moisture are shrinking, while heat-retaining built-up areas keep expanding.
An extreme heat/heat wave is generated when the maximum temperature reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius or more for many days. The incoming solar radiations were absorbed by soil cover, used by vegetation for photosynthesis and transpiration, and water bodies for evaporation. In the past, a significant share of incoming solar energy was absorbed by soil, used by vegetation for photosynthesis and transpiration, or consumed in evaporation from water bodies.
Today, growing concrete expanses reflect and reradiate much of that energy, pushing up the effective temperature still further.
There are two types of temperature: one is the real temperature as measured by a thermometer and second is the effective temperature which is the one we feel. A few decades ago, hot days and heat waves were far less oppressive thanks to plentiful water bodies, dense vegetation, healthy soil cover, limited concrete surfaces, and a lifestyle more in tune with outdoor conditions and lower ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels.
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Modern lifestyles add another layer. Homes, offices, and cars are routinely air-conditioned to about 25 °C, while outdoor readings hover near 40°C, a stark 15°C jump whenever we step outside, too abrupt for the body to adapt easily. Earlier, indoor spaces typically remained closer to the ambient 37°C (roughly body temperature), so the change felt less jarring. Moreover, ACs expel hot exhaust, contributing to local warming.
Elevated UV radiation intensifies the blazing sunshine, compounding discomfort. These factors are responsible for the increase in the effective temperature and made the people in north India feel a torturous summer.
To get relieved from the scorching heat certain steps are mandatory. Cities should be well planned with proper water bodies, vegetation, soil cover and low concrete area. The use of plastering and tiles on both sides of the road should be checked and methods like afforestation should be encouraged.
The climate-friendly city and better planning to combat impact of global warming should be encouraged by govt authorities.
Nature provides all the essential services that support life: air, water and the soil that nourishes our crops. While we cannot control natural forces, we can regulate our human activities by aligning them with scientific understanding and the laws of nature. It is, therefore, a moral duty and shared responsibility of every individual to actively support conservation efforts and sustainable development, so that we can handover our coming generation a neat, clean and green earth.
(The author is Head of department of geology, University of Lucknow, and was member of the First Indian Expedition to the Arctic (north Pole region)