People face the heat, post Hudhud

October 08, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:52 am IST

A girl covers her face with a scarf to protect herself from heat in the city.— PHOTOS: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

A girl covers her face with a scarf to protect herself from heat in the city.— PHOTOS: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

n October 12 last year, the city of Visakhapatnam was hit by the very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud. The city was devastated and the storm left an indelible trail of destruction. But, the most telling effect was on the climatic change that the city has been witnessing for the last one year. As per the data available at the Department of Oceanography and Meteorology, Andhra University, the average daytime temperature of the city has gone up by 2 to 3 degrees on an average when compared to the normal and past record.

While the normal average temperature of the city during the month of August is 31degree Celsius and in the airport area is 33, the actual average temperature recorded in the city is 33 and in the airport area it is 36 degree Celsius. Similarly, in the month of September the normal is 31 and 33 and the actual average recorded is 33.4 and 36.4. In both months, the actual average temperature is not only up by 2 to 3 degrees over the normal average but also about 3 to 4 degrees over the previous year’s actual average. The increase is not during the two months, it has been a phenomenon all through the year.

“Because of the rise in temperature, we have been experiencing an extended summer,” says Senior Professor from the Department S.S.V.S. Ramakrishna.

“Post-Hudhud, the land convectibility in Visakhapatnam has become very unstable. The core of the city has become stronger and hotter due to direct exposure to the sun, because of the lack of green cover and the city has become an intense urban heat island. And this is why we have been experiencing the heat even during this part of the year,” says Prof. Ramakrishna.

Pollution, especially the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide, is also responsible for the climatic change in the city. “Trees act as carbon sinks. Through photosynthesis they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The percentage of oxygen in the air has come down due to the loss of green cover. Temperature drops down by 2 to 3 degrees under the shade of a mid-size tree and that is why the average temperature at RINL Township was always lower by 2 to 3 degrees from the city, due to the green drive taken up by the steel plant,” says Prof. E.U.B. Reddi.

Thundershowers

While the temperature is on the rise on one hand, the humidity levels have come down by about 7 to 10 per cent on the other.

And this is due to lack of enough water vapour content in the air and this is causing more number of thundershowers, which is uncommon to the city.

While the sea temperatures have risen by 2 degrees due to global warming, the land temperature has gone up simultaneously by 2 to 3 degrees thus creating an unfavourable environment for generation of depressions or cyclones or paving way for a sustained good monsoon, said Prof. Ramakrishna.

The percentage of oxygen in the air has come down due to the loss of green cover

— Prof. E.U.B. Reddi

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