India gearing up for a hot summer as temperatures soar unusually high in end March
The unusually high temperatures, especially the jump in minimum temperature, has fuelled fears of a heat wave across north India, reports said.
The Met office has also said that states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat are also expected to experience mild heat wave conditions.
Bhira village in Maharashtra recorded 46.5 degrees on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, said on Thursday that in view of growing population, the per capita availability of ground water in India is reducing progressively.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the minister said that as per latest assessment carried out jointly by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and state government Departments for 2011, out of 6,607 assessment units in the country, 1,071 assessment units in 15 states and 3 UTs are categorized as ‘Over-exploited’.
Reasons for depletion of ground water resources is mainly due to growing population, urbanization and industrialization, the minister said.
According to the minister's report, the average annual per capita water availability in 2001 and 2011 was assessed as 1,820 cubic meters and 1,545 cubic meters, respectively, which may reduce further to 1,341 and 1,140 in 2025 and 2050, respectively.
Image: environmentportal Twitter
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