In our state, average temperature is between 34 and 44 degrees centigrade at the highest and between 12 and 26 degrees at the lowest, in winter in north Telangana, the temperature falls to 5 to 6 degrees. In place where there are mines like Ramagundam and Kothagudem, the maximum temperatures hover between 47 and 50 degrees. In Hyderabad in the 1960s, the average temperature was 26 degrees which has now risen to 29 to 30 degrees. The city has just one percent of its area under greenery.

Due to rise in population, the construction of multi-storied buildings had multiplied enormously. And the number of vehicles has increased steeply. Smoke released from these vehicles is trapped between tall buildings. With no trees in the neighborhood, the temperature shoots up at many places. They form islands of high temperature. The temperature in such places is two or three degrees higher than that in the surrounding areas. These places are called heat islands with a different micro climate.

The temperature in the city is always on the higher side because the buildings block the flow of the air and increase the humidity. Moreover, green cover is very little. Buildings, houses, factories, roads and so on trap the heat. They also cause more evaporation of water. Even the wet soil losses its moisture. The increased heat from the sun disturbs the natural water cycle. In addition to these, the heat and smoke from furnaces, boilers, thermal stations and vehicles raise the temperature. In places where this thermal heat radiation is high, the temperature is naturally higher.

In contrast, the universities, suburbs, and parks, which are located on the outskirts of the city, have a lower temperature. For example, in the Osmania University Hyderabad, Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, Kakatiya University in Warangal and Sri Venkatewsara University in Tirupati, the temperatures are lower than that in the surrounding areas only due to the plantation of more trees are lower than that in the surrounding areas only due to the plantation of more trees by the students and the administration in the universities. Same is the case in the residential colonies of the Ramagundam where National Thermal Power Corporation [NTPC] town ship is located in the area. In other words, different parts of the same area can have different temperatures depending on the tree cover.

Radioactive pollution

There’s another kind of pollution, wherein we are exposed to alpha, beta, and gamma rays. This exposure is known as nuclear radiation. You might be already aware that we use x-rays to understand the internal skeletal condition of the body without operating on the patient. These rays are also used in the treatment of cancer, but they can also lead to cancer and tumors. People working in nuclear facilities and handling nuclear wastes are always in danger of exposure to radiation that can cause tumors in the body. Even natural radioactive materials like uranium and thorium, which are found in countries like India and Brazil, can cause harm to life forms. Moreover, nuclear accidents can spread radiation over a wide area. The effects of the nuclear bombs that the Americans dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is begin felt even today i.e. sixty years later. The disaster at wind scale in England in 1957 and the Chernobyl disaster in Russia in disaster in Russia in 1986 caused untold losses to people in different countries.

When a nuclear device is exploded, it creates a huge mushroom- like cloud of dark smoke that spreads to a large area. That is why experiments above the ground have been banned. There is a nuclear race between India, China and Pakistan for Defence preparedness. Nuclear power stations are now generating fifty thousand tonnes of nuclear waste a year. It is not easy to mange nuclear wastes. Radiation from the can enter plants, the milk we drink and can cause dreadful diseases. If exposure to radiation is more, there can be red color rashes al over his skin, ulcer in the throat and loss in reproduction capacity. It affects the bone marrow. The bone marrow generates white blood corpuscles that protect us from infections. If it is affected we would be more susceptible to diseases. So it is necessary that those handling nuclear materials should be extremely careful. All wastes should be moved to a place far away from residential areas to reduce the effects of radiation. All the nuclear reactors in India run on the fuel made at the nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad. The heavy water in producing the nuclear fuel is manufactured at Manuguru in Khammam District. Such places need to be located far from the cities in open areas. It must also ensure that no residential areas come up with in the neighborhood.

Radiation from ultrasound waves, cosmic and microwaves have begun to affect the human genetic make-up. Nuclear energy technology as well as nuclear bomb technology have together increased radioactivity.

Now while we have begun to use nuclear technology in various ways, we are also increasingly living with the after effects of radiation. We have seen some of the problems that arise due to radiation. But the increasing use of nuclear technology in medicine in the form of x –rays, radio- isotopes and so on has come an excuse for its continued development as the incidence of cancers of the skin and breast, has become common now. But radioactive wastes also affect the plant life.

The genetic changes due to the effect of radiation we mentioned before, affect the chromosomes and some organs primarily. Radiation also causes diseases such as leukemia, fetal deformations and reduction in the life span. To ensure the safety of the people handing nuclear material, the international Atomic Energy Commission [IAEC] has formulated some measures. These are to be followed all over the world.