Hill life thrown out of gear owing to hot, humid weather

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 23 Sept 2024, Darjeeling: A group of tourists from Karnataka, visiting Sikkim and Darjeeling, set a precondition that they would check in to a hotel, only if the hotel rooms have fans. 

Though this is nothing unusual in the plains, in Darjeeling town, it definitely has raised eyebrows. Darjeeling is the most favoured destination, where people visit to escape the stifling heat of the plains. 

The very birth of Darjeeling as a hill station and a health sanatorium revolved around its cool climate. 

“We had bookings from a group from Karnataka who were scheduled to arrive from Pelling in west Sikkim. Two days before their scheduled arrival, they called up and stated that if the rooms did not have fans, they would cancel their stay. 

They stated that they had even changed hotels in Pelling owing to the absence of fans. We hurriedly ordered pedestal fans from Siliguri,” stated Jitendra Kumar Yadav, manager, Hotel Pradhan in Darjeeling. 

This is not a lone incident. Hoteliers claim that many of the guests have been requesting fans with the ongoing hot and humid spell in Darjeeling. 

On September 22, IMD recorded 28.2 deg C in Darjeeling; 28 deg C in Kalimpong and 37.2 deg C in Siliguri. “This is the highest ever temperature recorded in Darjeeling in this month in recent years. 

It is around 8 deg C more than the normal,” stated Gopinath Raha of the Indian Meteorological Department, Gangtok. Raha explained that this was owing to the monsoon trough deviating from the normal position. 

“Rainfall depends on the position of the eastern end of the monsoon trough running west-east. If the eastern end deviates from the normal position north we have more rain. 

Now it has deviated towards the south therefore the sky is free of clouds resulting in the increase of temperature. There have been a number of low pressure build ups or cyclonic circulations in the Bay-of-Bengal which has also drawn away the clouds from this region resulting in the increase of day temperatures. 

Monsoon was active in the region from June to mid-July, but since then, rainfall has been minimal,” stated Raha. However there are chances of the weather improving from Tuesday with expected rainfall bringing relief from the heat and humidity, he added. 

“Even in Siliguri we have never experienced such weather. For a month the temperature has been hovering near 40 deg C with a feel of much above 40. The humidity level is 70 to 90 per cent. This is the clear effect of global warming and climate change with erratic and extreme weather. 

The only escape is to increase the green cover and change in lifestyle along with sustainable living,” stated Animesh Bose, co-ordinator of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF). Unplanned urbanisation and lifestyle changes, including rampant use of air conditioners, have been contributory factors, he added. Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/hill-life-thrown-out-of-gear-owing-to-hot-humid-weather-580560