CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -India will launch its own composite Heat Index next year to quantify the impact of heat on its population and generate impact-based heatwave alerts for specific locations.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1948 the Centigrade scale, renamed it the “Celsius” temperature scale and most countries use the Celsius scale. Indian, and several other countries, use the Fahrenheit system of temperature measurement mainly because from the British time only Fahrenheit thermometers were available in India.

Detailed explanation-3: -Criteria for Heat Wave When normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40oC Heat Wave Departure from normal is 5oC to 6oC Severe Heat Wave Departure from normal is 70C or more.

Detailed explanation-4: -Heat Wave as an extreme weather event has recently has become a concern for disaster management in India due to widespread and severe impact on health and environment. For last few years, heat wave during the summer season is increasingly affecting morbidity and mortality in the country.