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Hotter Summer
Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth's hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, European climate service Copernicus reported Friday. And if this sounds familiar, that's because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Nino, keeps dialling up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said. The northern meteorological summer June, July and August averaged 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus. That's 0.03 degrees Celsius (0.05 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the old record in 2023. Copernicus records go back to 1940, but American, British and Japanese records, which start in the mid-19th century, show the last decade has been the hottest since regular measurements were taken and likely in about 120,000 years, according to some scientists. The Augusts of both 2024 and 2023 tied for the hottest Augusts ..
Amid the rising temperatures during the current summer season, a higher number of commuters is preferring to travel by the air-conditioned local trains in Mumbai, officials said. On May 6, the Western Railway issued 3,737 season tickets, the highest since the induction of the AC local trains in the zonal railway, a WR spokesperson said on Tuesday. As many as 1,60,645 card (single or return journey) tickets have been booked this month till May 6, 30 per cent more compared to the corresponding period last year, the official said. As per the WR data, the average ridership of the AC local trains was 1,06, 925 in May 2023-24, and 1,52, 682 till now in May 2024-25. "The number of commuters travelling by AC locals is showing an upward trend," the spokesperson said. A Central Railway spokesperson said they have also witnessed a surge in the number of AC train travellers on the Mumbai suburban network. The CR issued 2,280 season tickets and registered a ridership of 1,49186 on its suburba
People of Uttar Pradesh got no respite from the scorching heat on Wednesday as the mercury crossed the 44 degrees Celsius-mark at various places. According to the Meteorological Department, weather was dry and heat wave conditions prevailed at isolated places across the state. Hamirpur and Prayagraj were the hottest places in the state with the maximum temperature reaching 44.2 degrees Celsius. Kushinagar recorded 44.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Jhansi (43.6 degrees Celsius), Agra (43.4 degrees Celsius) and Kanpur (43 degrees Celsius), it said. The weather is likely to remain dry over eastern Uttar Pradesh while rain is expected at isolated places in the western part of the state, the Met office said.
A hotter than normal summer is expected in 2023 with temperatures likely to reach 2-3 degree celsius above normal in some parts of Indo-Gangetic plains and eastern India during the last week of March, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) told a high level meeting on Tuesday. At the review meeting, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba here, the IMD said above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of northeast, east and central India and some parts of northwest India. Temperatures could be 2-3 degree celsius above normal in some parts of Indo-Gangetic plains and eastern India during last week of March, the IMD informed the meeting convened to review preparedness for the ensuing summer and mitigation measures. The cabinet secretary noted that since a hotter than normal summer is expected, states and union territories need to be adequately prepared to meet the associated challenges, according to an official release. The IMD made a presentation on the global ..