Country is facing Severe Summer this year.

Blame it on the global warming, our planet is currently facing the consequences of our over abuse of natural resources, deforestation on massive scale etc. At least in Maharashtra, the places that are facing severe drought are because of overplanting sugarcane crops which uses too much water, resulting in depletion of ground water levels and zero efforts to trap rainwater to help maintain ground water levels. I think this is a wake up call, but whether we respond to it wisely, is the question.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Blame it on the global warming, our planet is currently facing the consequences of our over abuse of natural resources, deforestation on massive scale etc. At least in Maharashtra, the places that are facing severe drought are because of overplanting sugarcane crops which uses too much water, resulting in depletion of ground water levels and zero efforts to trap rainwater to help maintain ground water levels. I think this is a wake up call, but whether we respond to it wisely, is the question.

Yes Kalyani, I too would think this is a wake up call and unless all people do their bit, things will only become worse in the future. Deforestation is the single most factor besides our own greed for building superstructures that are anything but environmental friendly. I hope t least now our leaders realise the importance of living in harmony with nature rather than go against it..

usha manohar wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

Blame it on the global warming, our planet is currently facing the consequences of our over abuse of natural resources, deforestation on massive scale etc. At least in Maharashtra, the places that are facing severe drought are because of overplanting sugarcane crops which uses too much water, resulting in depletion of ground water levels and zero efforts to trap rainwater to help maintain ground water levels. I think this is a wake up call, but whether we respond to it wisely, is the question.

Yes Kalyani, I too would think this is a wake up call and unless all people do their bit, things will only become worse in the future. Deforestation is the single most factor besides our own greed for building superstructures that are anything but environmental friendly. I hope t least now our leaders realise the importance of living in harmony with nature rather than go against it..

I doubt that a lot, otherwise the authorities would never have given permission to construct buildings that are covered with aluminium frames and glass frames that heat up the buildings inside and outside so much that they become giant guzzlers of both electricity and water resources to keep them cool inside. Such buildings are a necessity in European countries with cooler climates but are built here in India just for the sake of impression and maintain outward appearances without thinking how much wastage of utilities occur due to them.

this year summer came very fast and started showing his importance and destructive image 

@Kalyani is very right about her views. But I feel the main reason is that our education system is western oriented and it needs modification to suit Indian conditions. Therefore cold climate buildingscare made in hot India. One just had to go back pre 1947 to see how heat friendly building a were made in India. Today's buildings are heat traps.

vijay wrote:

@Kalyani is very right about her views. But I feel the main reason is that our education system is western oriented and it needs modification to suit Indian conditions. Therefore cold climate buildingscare made in hot India. One just had to go back pre 1947 to see how heat friendly building a were made in India. Today's buildings are heat traps.

I agree, it is the British who rightly recognised that and created buildings that remained cool in summer and warm in winters, sadly, those pre-independence era buildings in cities such as Mumbai are now deliberately neglected and not maintained so in a few years' time they could demolished and modern glass-structures built on their place, many such buildings have already been lost. It is the progressive, modern outlook that frowns upon everything traditional is the cause behind such silly attitude. Look at all the traditional houses built in any part of country, be t the sloping red-tiled houses in Konkan, Karanataka or Kerala etc. and they are built in tune with the harmony of nature. Modern architects and designers, need to look at such structures and use them in new buildings.

We have to search and develop our own solutions which our ancestors did without western influence but today no one wants to take initiative. In multistorey apartments the ceiling heights have been redced to bare minimum and no ventilation for hot air to go out are provided. The natural draft helps flow of air but todaty it id trapped. Side walls need to be thicker to act as insulation but single brick walls are now common. Effort is to reduce cost and give a houd which is nothing but a heat sink.Sad .

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

vijay wrote:

@Kalyani is very right about her views. But I feel the main reason is that our education system is western oriented and it needs modification to suit Indian conditions. Therefore cold climate buildingscare made in hot India. One just had to go back pre 1947 to see how heat friendly building a were made in India. Today's buildings are heat traps.

I agree, it is the British who rightly recognised that and created buildings that remained cool in summer and warm in winters, sadly, those pre-independence era buildings in cities such as Mumbai are now deliberately neglected and not maintained so in a few years' time they could demolished and modern glass-structures built on their place, many such buildings have already been lost. It is the progressive, modern outlook that frowns upon everything traditional is the cause behind such silly attitude. Look at all the traditional houses built in any part of country, be t the sloping red-tiled houses in Konkan, Karanataka or Kerala etc. and they are built in tune with the harmony of nature. Modern architects and designers, need to look at such structures and use them in new buildings.

It is the same here, we used to have such comfortable houses with Mangalore tiled roofs, wide verandahs and open courtyards . There are still many such houses but fast disappearing because of the escalating land price and expanding city limits. We have never ever had water problem so far in this city but this year it is very severe and people now realise the folly of closing wells and building on top of that and not maintaining natural lakes. Trees around the house makes a lot of difference and even that is becoming a rare sight because of lack of space.

This is just April and it is so hot that coolers and A.C. are being used.  There is water shortage also. The Municipal corporation is unable to supply water regularly through tapped water supply. In my locality there is no supply of water and so we need to use submersible pumps. Needless to say that the cost of digging and installing such pumps is not affordable for poor. Moreover the water level is also going down and peoole are forced to dig deeper every two or three years. 

Here is my area temprature is about 41 degree, but we are habitual of facing it. In coming day we will  face 48 to 50 degree. It is plus point for us that we have not water problem.

I think in many parts of India the temperature has reached its peak or set new records this year. But water problem is something which could have been avoided with careful planning because we have heavy monsoons and enough water accumulation during rainy season, which goes waste because of not enough storage and dam facilities. Linking river and constructing more dams may be one long term option, but in the mean time I have seen in Bangalore those houses where rain water harvesting has been implemented their bore wells have enough water for their use. This is one of the solutions that needs to be looked into. In Tamilnadu they seem to have successfully implemented this  launched by Jayalalitha .

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/tn-s-success-story-rain-water-harvesting/story-u2LJmSHM4O4vA155wEtmOK.html

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

This is just April and it is so hot that coolers and A.C. are being used.  There is water shortage also. The Municipal corporation is unable to supply water regularly through tapped water supply. In my locality there is no supply of water and so we need to use submersible pumps. Needless to say that the cost of digging and installing such pumps is not affordable for poor. Moreover the water level is also going down and peoole are forced to dig deeper every two or three years. 

 

Yes Ia gree, this is just April, Summer has just started. Just think how severe the temperature would be especially in May and until Monsoon starts. On the top of this, water shortage is really taking toll on the health of people. I hope atleast this year we get pleasant monsoon .

Making comments only for points is a far bigger problem. 

Rain Water Harvesting system is the right solution to solve the problem of water scarcity , the condition under which, the country is reeling. Tamil Nadu Govt, has started this scheme as early as 2001, Now, the entire country is following the RWH.

Babu saroj wrote:Summer with shortage of water is really a big problem to look after

IT would be better if you could comment on how to look after that problem rather than just stating the obvious for gaining points.

On top of the fast vanishing underground water, setting fires to forests and hillsides is another favorite pastime of Indians that might be worsening the drought problem. Indian farmers are known to set farmers under the belief that it makes the ground more fertile for future crops but experts disagree with it, as fragile ecosystems that are indigenous in nature get destroyed forever. I do not have much knowledge about the relationship of these fires with the depleting water, but such fires do increase pollution and temperatures. One such large scale fire has been raging for weeks in the Uttarakhand and I came to know about it only now through a Facebook page. Wonder why the government and media are both silent on such an important issue.

https://www.facebook.com/uttarakhandfire/

One of the reasons behind the Uttarakhand Forest fires is the nexus between the Forest officials and the Timber Mafia. This seems a possible reason for  Uttarakhand Forest fire. Anyhow, the facts remains the the Country is reeling under the severe summer.

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

On top of the fast vanishing underground water, setting fires to forests and hillsides is another favorite pastime of Indians that might be worsening the drought problem. Indian farmers are known to set farmers under the belief that it makes the ground more fertile for future crops but experts disagree with it, as fragile ecosystems that are indigenous in nature get destroyed forever. I do not have much knowledge about the relationship of these fires with the depleting water, but such fires do increase pollution and temperatures. One such large scale fire has been raging for weeks in the Uttarakhand and I came to know about it only now through a Facebook page. Wonder why the government and media are both silent on such an important issue.

https://www.facebook.com/uttarakhandfire/

 

 

Yes this is being shown on all news channels since more than a week now..Normally when the summer heat is unbearable and tree branches dry out, there can be friction and become the cause of forest fire. I have seen it in western ghats and it is not easy to put it off because of the sheer volume it consumes. Such a pity that precious forest land is being lost !

usha manohar wrote:

Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:

On top of the fast vanishing underground water, setting fires to forests and hillsides is another favorite pastime of Indians that might be worsening the drought problem. Indian farmers are known to set farmers under the belief that it makes the ground more fertile for future crops but experts disagree with it, as fragile ecosystems that are indigenous in nature get destroyed forever. I do not have much knowledge about the relationship of these fires with the depleting water, but such fires do increase pollution and temperatures. One such large scale fire has been raging for weeks in the Uttarakhand and I came to know about it only now through a Facebook page. Wonder why the government and media are both silent on such an important issue.

https://www.facebook.com/uttarakhandfire/

 

 

Yes this is being shown on all news channels since more than a week now..Normally when the summer heat is unbearable and tree branches dry out, there can be friction and become the cause of forest fire. I have seen it in western ghats and it is not easy to put it off because of the sheer volume it consumes. Such a pity that precious forest land is being lost !

How come I missed the news then? Anyway, the fires start naturally in many instances too because of friction between bone-dry grasses and branches, but it is also a fact that many people start fires deliberately to make clear ground for planting crops the next season. I know it is a tremendous effort and near impossible to douse such fires but cannot something be modelled to encounter such emergencies?