Urgency of crisis demands quick action
Returning from a month-long holiday in the US, I was immediately struck by the urgency of the pollution crisis as I landed in Delhi, past midnight this week.
Delhi and Chandigarh recorded the heaviest rainfall in a day in 20 years on Saturday. The Safdarjung Observatory recorded 126 mm of rainfall in a space of nine hours from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm in Delhi. In Chandigarh too for the first time in 20 years record rainfall was recorded.
The last it rained heavier than this in Delhi was more than 20 years ago on July 10 2003. On that day, 133.4 mm of rainfall lashed Delhi while on July 21, 1958, more than 65 years ago, 266.2 mm of rainfall was recorded in Delhi. In Chandigarh also, record rainfall took place, with 302.3 mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 8:30 am on Sunday. This is the heaviest rainfall recorded ever since the Chandigarh Observatory was set up in 2009. Before that the figures were gathered from the Air Force Observatory. The Air Force Observatory also saw a maximum of 286 mm of rainfall in a single day.
Due to rains, 14 deaths have been reported from across north India, with the most number of deaths reported from Himachal Pradesh.
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Heavy rains also lashed the entire state of Himachal Pradesh where five lives have been lost and 200 people are stranded in Lahaul Spiti’s Chandratal area
In all, nine deaths have been reported in Himachal due to rains or rain-related incidents such as landslides. Three of a family died when their house collapsed after a landslide in Kotgarh, Shimla. In Kullu, a landslide left a woman dead while in another incident, a person was buried alive after a landslide in Katiyan, Chamba.
In Central India, 264 .9 mm rainfall was recorded, which is four per cent more than normal.
More rain is expected in the come few days and the Met Department has issued warnings, especially to those going to hill stations for the holidays. Himachal is the most sensitive and danger-prone state with construction activity going on both the main national highways, Chandigarh-Shimla and Chandigarh-Manali.
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