NEW DELHI
\nIndia\u2019s heatwave is the longest ever to hit the country, the government\u2019s top weather expert said Monday as he warned people will face increasingly oppressive temperatures.
\nParts of northern India have been gripped by a heatwave since mid-May, with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
\n\u201cThis has been the longest spell because it has been experienced for about 24 days in different parts of the country,\u201d the head of India\u2019s Meteorological Department (IMD), Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, said in an interview with the Indian Express daily.
\nThe mercury is expected to fall as the annual monsoon rains move north this month, but Mohapatra cautioned worse will follow.
\n\u201cHeatwaves will be more frequent, durable and intense, if precautionary or preventive measures are not taken,\u201d he said.
\nIndia is the world\u2019s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2070 \u2014 two decades after most of the industrialized West.
\nFor now, it is overwhelmingly reliant on coal for power generation.
\n\u201cHuman activities, increasing population, industrialization and transport mechanisms are leading to increased concentration of carbon monoxide, methane and chlorocarbons,\u201d Mohapatra said.
\n\u201cWe are endangering not only ourselves, but also our future generations.\u201d
\nScientific research shows climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
\nThe latest heatwave has seen temperatures in New Delhi match the capital\u2019s previous record high: 49.2C (120.5F) clocked in 2022.
\nAs people sought relief from the scorching temperatures, the electricity grid groaned under a record peak power demand of 8,302 megawatts.
\nOn May 29, an automatic weather station in the Delhi suburb of Mungeshpur recorded a high of 52.9C (127.2F), but the temperature was the result of a faulty sensor.
\nElsewhere in Delhi, 17 other city stations hit a maximum of 49C (120.2F) the same day.
\n\u201cWe constituted an expert committee, which observed readings for the next two days and found there were problems with the sensor,\u201d Mohapatra said.
\nWhile the IMB had raised its concerns about the recording within hours, Mohapatra confirmed for the first time that the sensor was faulty.
\n\u201cWe inspect the AWS (automatic weather stations) every six months,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cBut in between a bird or a monkey can disturb it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI India\u2019s heatwave is the longest ever to hit the country, the government\u2019s top weather expert said Monday as he warned people will face increasingly oppressive temperatures. Parts of northern India have been gripped by a heatwave since mid-May, with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). \u201cThis has been the longest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-412181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n