Ferocity of the heat wave this year reminiscences nightmares in 1998. Time ahead could be incapacitating
By D N Singh
This year’s summer started early with devastating heat waves across the globe. South Asia is experiencing its highest temperatures in the last 122 years, leading to at least 90 heat-related deaths in Pakistan and India. The People’s Republic of China suffered three consecutive heat waves, breaking long-standing records, with temperatures exceeding 42 degrees Celsius.
It reminds me of the year 1998, a deadly heat wave condition in Odisha that had reportedly claimed more than 2000 lives.
We were on a mission mode going to many places in Odisha to make reports. That day as we were heading to Bolangir district, one hot bed of Odisha, we had to travel in the early evening and to cross few river bridges.
From the start of the bridge of almost one km long, what we witnessed was surprising. En number of cars were parked alongside and there were bee lines on both sides of the bridge.
Upon query we came to know that, most of the people present there had driven all the way from Bhubaneswar & Cuttack areas to get some breeze on the river bridge. That spoke about the more abject heat conditions in the cities almost nearing to a suffocation without an iota of wind.
After Bolangir we headed toTitlagarh the most infamous blistering sub-division in Bolangir earning the sobriquet as ‘Tatla Garh’ (hot place).
As we entered the town we could notice most of the people there have caps or some head gears, commuting through the town dotted by several drinking water stalls or known as ‘Jal chhatra’.
It was 20 past 2 pm and suddenly we felt that the AC of our Ambassador car has nearly failed and could get to know that the day’s temperature had shot up to nearly 49 degree celcius.
All through the town the only living sight was the long queues of water containers near the water tankers, while their owners were sheltering themselves under trees or nearby sheds.
Rest no one was visible except a few reluctant vendors at their road side shops.
Spending the day there was a challenge and the nights were nightmarish.
This year’s ongoing heat waves in Asia and around the world need to be managed immediately to save lives. Particular attention must be paid to communities that cannot rely on safe and affordable water or air conditioning to cool down. The underlying long-term causes also need to be addressed. If not, the heat waves of the future could be far more intense and disruptive than what we are experiencing today.
