Summer is long gone and the monsoon is in full swing. But a respite from the heat seems to be a far cry, as heat and humidity have apparently made the city into an open sauna.
This combination of heat and humidity, rather than the temperature alone, gives us a sense of actually how hot we feel. It is known as the heat index or discomfort index. The index rises if the humidity goes up and gives a sauna-like feeling as you sweat a lot and feel drained of energy.
“While the maximum temperature is hovering between 35-36 degrees Celsius, the humidity during the day is shooting up to 60% because of the moisture in the air. This combination is causing the discomfort,” said Kuldeep Singh, a scientist at New Delhi’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.
The humidity levels drop to around 15% during the peak summer days, making the air hotter and dryer. On Monday, the day’s temperature was 35.5 degrees Celsius and the maximum relative humidity was 62%.
Experts said the body’s cooling mechanism is getting hampered because the sweat on our bodies is not getting evaporated amid high relative humidity level in the air.
Scientists also said as the rain has washed away pollutants, the cooling effect created by them by reflecting and dispersing the sun’s rays to some extent is also gone.
“The rain has washed away the pollutants. Aerosols in the air help to disperse some of the sun’s rays and create a cooling effect. Now that the air is cleaner because of the monsoon, the sun’s rays are heating up the land and air quicker,” said LS Rathore, former director-general of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
On Monday, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was 66. On a scale of 0-500, it is considered as satisfactory.
While the national capital has already witnessed two ‘good’ air days, a phenomenon hardly seen in a polluted city like Delhi, the AQI value is now ranging in the satisfactory level. It usually stays in the moderate and poor levels during summers and in the winters, it shoots up to very poor and severe levels.
