Extreme Temperatures Create "Heat Islands" Around Delhi, NASA Shares Pic

In the midst of extremely hot weather conditions in India, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of American space agency NASA, recently shared an image showing “heat islands” in and around Delhi. 

According to a press note, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has deployed a satellite instrument called Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment On Space Station (ECOSTRESS), which measures temperatures of the ground from space. Therefore, in its latest social media post, the US space agency released an image depicting Delhi's ground temperatures recorded earlier this month. 

NASA said that the temperature in Delhi's urban “heat islands” and neighbouring villages reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius) while surrounding areas were nearly 40 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 5 degrees Celsius) colder. The “heat islands” are visible in the image as red spots. 

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As per the press note, the image covers around 12,350 square kilometres. NASA informed that since mid-March, India and Pakistan have been engulfed in an unrelenting heatwave that has resulted in multiple deaths, fires, greater air pollution and low agriculture production. The space agency also added that the latest data suggests that city dwellers are experiencing considerably higher temperatures than the average temperatures reported for their regions. 

Further, as per NASA, the recorded temperatures also show that even at night, the mercury remained high in several areas. In some cities, temperatures at night were reported to be as high as 39 degrees Celsius. Delhi, too, hovered around 35 degrees Celsius during the nighttime, the press note revealed. It is to mention that the temperatures mentioned in the report were recorded on May 5 and released on May 13. 

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Additionally, the US space agency said that human actions and the materials utilised in the built environment cause cities to be significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the maximum temperature recorded in the national capital reached 49 degrees Celsius, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). However, on Monday, Delhiites woke up to a partly cloudy sky with the IMD forecasting a thunderstorm or dust storm in the capital city. But the maximum temperature in Delhi is still likely to settle around 41 degrees Celsius.