Is Odisha turning a ‘heat island’ in IndiaIJ This looks so given the fact that when the country’s hottest parts are smouldering, Odisha was burning red hot.
In almost during the last fortnight in April, places in Odisha record themselves as the hottest in the country in majority of days. Titlagarh was hottest (around 47deg C) in country on Wednesday and Thursday last.
What appears significant this April is when country’s hottest zones - North-Western States, Telengana - relatively remained less hot, it is States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and some parts of West Bengal that were unusually hotter. And, since last week Odisha was the hottest in the country as places like Sundergarh to Titlagarh topped the mercury chart in the country.
Though Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are also in the grip of severe heat wave, it is Odisha that is making to the top of mercury charts that indicates to the meteorological parlance of ‘heat island effect’ here.
What is ‘heat island effect’IJ It is the place where the air remains warmer by around 2-5 degree Celsius than the surrounding areas. The place is characterised by little wind, higher temperature and longer heat wave spells. And, places in Odisha this April satisfied almost all the conditions whereby they remained quite hotter, when severe heat wave warnings by Met Department were issued for States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Odisha. Weather experts here at City Met office are of the view that this could be due to more ‘heat trapping’ in Odisha comparably. The ominous fall out of ‘heat island effect’: It has the potential to influence change in wind patterns, clouds and rainfall.
And, environmentalists describe this as ‘in situ heat wave’ (locally centric), and not due to global warming. WIO convenor Ranjan Panda blames the apathy of State Government in addressing the constant rising of mercury in this part (mainly western) of Odisha as it failed to initiate measures to control the ‘heat budget’ of the region.
The probable result: Troughs of low line eludes to pass over the State. As troughs are region of low atmospheric pressure, they induce cooler breeze and resultant rain, observed experts at Met office here. “A trough line is now observed extending from eastern Uttar Pradesh to Nagaland passing across Bihar, northern parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya. This raises the spectre of cooler climate there,” observed Director IMD Odisha Sarat Sahu.
According to Met experts, Odisha this April experience more ‘surface highs’ (means higher atmospheric pressure on land surface) - which is a sinking motion that leads to clearer skies and lighter winds. The outcome: It obscures chances of rainfall and April saw no rainfall in Odisha. As IMD predicted abatement in heat wave from April 27, conditions for extension or formation of trough lines over central India including Odisha in May looks possible, they observed.
And, environmentalists warn that ‘surface high’ condition would be a double whammy for Odisha as it could induce higher pollution since it traps pollutants near the surface.