Malayali mountaineer stuck on Mount Denali in US
PATHANAMTHITTA: Sheikh Hassan Khan, a famous mountaineer hailing from Pathanamthitta, is reportedly stranded on Mount Denali, North America's highest peak, due to severe storms and harsh weather conditions.
Hassan embarked on the Denali expedition with a fellow climber from Tamil Nadu, aiming to raise the national flag in tribute to the Indian Army's Operation Sindoor.
However, adverse conditions, including strong winds, have delayed their progress, and they got stuck at Camp 5 of Mount Denali.
His desperate message, shared on Twitter by a user, called for prayers and urgent intervention.
'I am on an expedition to Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. We are stuck in a severe storm at 17,000 feet with less food and water to survive. Only God can help us now. Please ask all to pray,' the message read. Responding swiftly, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar took to Twitter, tagging External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, for immediate assistance.
'I've alerted @DrSJaishankar and his team. I am also tagging @IndianEmbassyUS to please help. Stay Safe,' tweeted Chandrasekhar.
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New Indian Express
5 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Malayali mountaineer stuck on Mount Denali in US
PATHANAMTHITTA: Sheikh Hassan Khan, a famous mountaineer hailing from Pathanamthitta, is reportedly stranded on Mount Denali, North America's highest peak, due to severe storms and harsh weather conditions. Hassan embarked on the Denali expedition with a fellow climber from Tamil Nadu, aiming to raise the national flag in tribute to the Indian Army's Operation Sindoor. However, adverse conditions, including strong winds, have delayed their progress, and they got stuck at Camp 5 of Mount Denali. His desperate message, shared on Twitter by a user, called for prayers and urgent intervention. 'I am on an expedition to Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. We are stuck in a severe storm at 17,000 feet with less food and water to survive. Only God can help us now. Please ask all to pray,' the message read. Responding swiftly, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar took to Twitter, tagging External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, for immediate assistance. 'I've alerted @DrSJaishankar and his team. I am also tagging @IndianEmbassyUS to please help. Stay Safe,' tweeted Chandrasekhar.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Erratic weather is hurting Indian firms in the biggest consumer market
India experienced extreme weather events on 88% of days in 2024 in one or more parts of the country, according to a database maintained by Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth. Indian companies, already facing a demand slump, are now grappling with unpredictable weather patterns. Unseasonal rains and cooler summers have impacted sales for major players in sectors like air conditioning and beverages, forcing production cuts and inventory adjustments. Businesses are increasingly turning to advanced weather forecasting to mitigate risks and adapt to the growing challenges posed by climate change. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Some of India's largest companies, already hit by a demand slump, are facing a new threat in wooing the country's 1.4 billion consumers: unpredictable weather.A cooler-than-usual summer this year — followed by the earliest onset of rain since 2009 — has hurt companies selling everything from talcum powder to air conditioners. Blue Star Ltd. , one of the largest AC sellers in the country, had to cut production by as much as 25% between April and June, as it saw fewer buyers. It also delayed imports of compressors, a key input, and extended credit to some dealerships saddled with unsold inventories. Rivals Havells Ltd. and Tata-owned Voltas Ltd. also flagged a sales slowdown.'It's like a wedding was to happen, but the wedding has now been canceled,' said B Thiagarajan, managing director at Blue Star, adding that it was a 'painful' time.A four-fold jump in frequency, unpredictability and intensity of extreme weather events in India over the past four decades has made planning and preparedness more demanding for companies. From Hindustan Unilever Ltd. to food delivery app Zomato-owner Eternal Ltd. to engineering giant Larsen & Tourbro Ltd., it's affecting everything from sales to labor and supply chain management in the world's biggest consumer situation as one of the most affected nations by climate change provides a glimpse of what's in store for other major economies as environmental change accelerates. As record-breaking temperatures, rains and other extreme weather occur worldwide, companies are likely to be left scrambling to predict and plan for the earnings calls over the last six months, top management and equity analysts discussed 'delayed summer' and 'delayed winter' the most in five years, according to transcripts analyzed by Bloomberg News.'This quarter is slightly challenging as far as the summer portfolio is concerned,' Mohan Goenka, vice chairman of Emami Ltd., whose products include talc powder, told investors on an earnings call last month. The company will try to make up for the setback through its other segments, he added. Varun Beverages Ltd. , which bottles Pepsi in India, had said in April that it was ramping up production for the summer, expecting higher demand. Instead, unseasonal rains likely hurt performance at the beverage maker, according to analysts at brokerage also flagged weaker demand at Dabur Ltd. , which sells fruit juices, and Tata Consumer Products Ltd. , which sells cold summer demand, 'once missed, is difficult to recover,' analysts at Nuvama, led by Abneesh Roy, said in a note to incidence of heat waves, for example, was among factors causing a shortage of labor at Larsen, even as it split shifts between early morning and late afternoon. Eternal, which operates Zomato and Blinkit, said it faces a seasonal shortage of delivery workers in the Unilever, which sells skincare brands including Ponds and Vaseline, said it saw muted performance in the December quarter partly due to a delayed experienced extreme weather events on 88% of days in 2024 in one or more parts of the country, according to a database maintained by Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth. Between 1993 and 2022, the South Asian nation lost about $180 billion to severe heat and rains, the Climate Risk Index 2025 report forecasting in India has been plagued by outdated technology and modeling systems that make it difficult to get accurate bridge this gap, the country launched a new weather model last month to improve its forecasting by doubling the level of detail previously possible. Intended to improve farming and flood management, the model could also help companies as they seek better and more granular data.'Businesses, while they were aware of the financial impact of weather, simply did not have enough reliable data that could be potentially put to use,' said Samuel John, co-founder and CEO of forecasting firm have changed in the half-decade since Covid, and weather forecasting has gone mainstream, John of the farm sector, companies from industries such as consumption, quick commerce, logistics, and construction are increasingly approaching Skymet Weather Services Pvt., its chief executive officer Yogesh Patil said. These newer clients, who seek structured, calendar-linked forecasting dashboards, now make up about half of the Reliance Industries Ltd. unit's has also set up over 750 of its own weather stations across 60 cities to collect detailed companies navigate the new normal of erratic weather, planning and diversification are Star's management is confident of recovering a large portion of the lost sales through the rest of the year, by working with more corporate clients where demand largely remains stable. But climate mitigation is becoming an important subject to Thiagarajan, who has worked in air conditioning for four decades.'Predictability is dropping year after year,' he said. 'You can only be prepared for the worst.'
Hans India
7 hours ago
- Hans India
Accuracy of scientifically generated weather forecasts remains limited
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) was established in 1875 as a pivotal organisation for weather observation, forecasting and climate monitoring in the Indian subcontinent. Incidentally 'India' is the correct word. Many national organisations use 'Indian' at the beginning of their names, which I find somewhat racist in its flavour. As someone pointed out, it is the India cricket team that plays against the teams of other countries and not the Indian team! IMD is the principal government agency for meteorology and related subjects and plays a vital role in disaster management, agriculture, aviation, and public safety by providing critical weather and climate services. Its vision includes achieving high forecast accuracy-zero-error for up to three days and 90 per cent accuracy for a five-day forecast. As one of the first scientific departments of the Government of India it celebrated its 150th anniversary on January 15, a milestone which is a testament to its long-standing contributions to the field of meteorology and its impact on the nation. The roots of meteorology in India trace back to ancient times. Early philosophical texts like the Upanishads discuss cloud formation, rain processes, and seasonal cycles, as long back as 3000 BCE. Modern meteorology gained a scientific foundation in the 17th century with the invention of the thermometer, barometer, and the formulation of atmospheric gas laws. The first meteorological observatory in India was established in 1785 at Kolkata. Having worked in the agriculture and related sectors for over two decades, I enjoyed a close association with IMD. As a member of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in particular, I had the opportunity to study the working of the organisation closely and often visited its headquarters in Lodhi Road, Delhi. Its distinguished past record and ambitious plans for the future notwithstanding, the fact remains that, at least so far as agriculture is concerned, I found IMD's forecasts are of limited, if not doubtful, value. Being a scientific organisation, it quite rightly puts out predictions based on studies of weather patterns using various instruments in different types of technology. The forecasts, excellent as they are from a technical point of view, however, are more relevant at the global level and have difficulty in relating to grassroots level requirements. I have for long argued that disaggregated and locally relevant short term forecasts ought to be the objectives which the agency needs to espouse. Agriculture is a tricky area and what is a good thing for one place can spell disaster for another. Likewise, what is a good event at one time in a given place can, at the wrong time, have extremely adverse consequences-the sauce for the goose not being the same for the gander, in other words. Take, for example, Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, where I began my career in civil service. Groundnut is a common crop there. If it does not rain in the first week of July, it is difficult to plant the seed. Another spell of rainfall is required a few weeks later, to whet the appetite of the growing plant for nourishment. Much later, when it is time for harvesting the crop, a shower, makes it easy for the groundnut to be plucked out of the ground. If any of these events happens at the wrong time, production and productivity will both suffer substantially. When the IMD says, for example, that rainfall is expected to be normal this year, it can very well mean that there may be floods in Bihar, eastern UP and West Bengal and severe droughts in Vidarbha or in the western parts of Rajasthan. The average of the two can satisfy the prediction of IMD, although there is disaster everywhere! As a member of the NDMA, I found that my earlier feeling, that it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to predict the occurrence of earthquakes had, in fact been scientifically validated. Forecasting, however, is possible in the case of other natural calamities, such as cyclones, floods and droughts. In the case of cyclones, I was aware that a technology was in vogue in other countries like the USA, by which aircrafts are sent into the eyes of cyclones, to study parameters such as the radius of maximum wind and temperature, which are crucial for anticipating the likely structure and intensity of the storms. I remember having taken it up with IMD with a view to seeing whether it could be used in India too. It is indeed gratifying that, subsequently, IMD did buy the appropriate technology from the USA. They are waiting to see if the Indian Air Force (IAF) can spare one of the aircrafts available with them, which are known to be suitable for the purpose, could be spared, so that they can also commence the process. In the meanwhile, it is understood that Taiwan has also started using the method, with the help of the USA. Despite all the mostly unjustified criticism against them, the weather forecasters, when all is said and done, do a reasonably good job. It is no fault of theirs, after all, that phenomenons such as the butterfly syndrome, make it well-nigh impossible for accurate predictions of the manner in which the climate in the world or the weather in a local situation will behave. We live in a world which today undoubtedly is free from any gender bias, a world in which women have, quite rightly, and on their own steam, proven their ability to occupy the highest positions in various walks of life, from politics to space travel, and acquitted themselves much better than their male counter parts. William Shakespeare, however, belonged to another era, not quite as enlightened. He would probably have assigned to the entity of weather the feminine gender. In order to correspond with his saying, as Hamlet said, in the play with the same name, 'Frailty thy name is woman.' There is, in fact, also a Telugu equivalent expression, reflecting the same spirit, 'Kshanakshanikamul javarandra chittamul', or freely translated, a moment is all that a lady needs to change her mind! A spirit, no doubt, that belonged to a less emancipated times! There are, after all, limits to even the most scientifically generated weather forecasts. There is this well-known butterfly syndrome in climate, a concept in chaos theory that describes how a small change in the initial conditions can lead to significant and unpredictable outcomes. The fluttering of the wings of a butterfly in Paris, for example, can lead to a super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal! Talking about weather forecasts reminds me of the time when in the early 1970s, P.V. Narasimha Rao, as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, travelled to Chittoor district to acquaint himself with the devastation caused by a severe drought. And as the Collector of that district at that time, a senior and respected colleague, Valliappan told me later, bursting with laughter, the Prime Minister went around in pouring rain! (The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)
