The rising heat in Himalayan States like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh is a cause for serious concern. Stating this, noted environmentalist Chandra Bhushan said that the situation may get out of hand in the future if necessary steps are not taken immediately. If constructions continue at this pace, the mountainous regions will have conditions like Delhi in a couple of decades. He said this in an online interaction with Anoop Nautiyal of SDC Foundation.

Bhushan said that before the industrial revolution the earth’s temperature had risen by one degree Celsius in three lakh years but after that it rose by one degree Celsius in a period of 150 to 170 years. The earth’s temperature rising by a degree means that it increased by five to six degrees in many places, he said.Expressing concern at heat wave days in Himalayan States, he said that during April, there were 21 such days in Himachal Pradesh and four in Uttarakhand. He explained that a heat day is when the temperature rises above 30 degrees Celsius in the mountains and 40 degrees Celsius in the plains. A heat day is also when the temperature rises 4.5 degrees Celsius to 6.5 degrees Celsius above the normal. He further observed that the condition of Dehradun has completely changed now. Till some years ago even fans were not really needed in Dehradun but now many people start using air conditioners in April itself. The number of heat days has increased in all Himalayan states during the past 10 years, he added.

Bhushan said that forest fires also have a major role in the rising number of heat days in Uttarakhand. He said that about 10-15 years ago, about 150 forest fire incidents used to take place in the state during a year while now this number is upto four thousand in a year. On the other hand, heat wave also contributes in increasing the number of forest fires. Expressing concern at the axing of a large number of trees in the name of development, he said that the temperature in general is lower in cities which have more trees. He also opined that building concrete homes instead of the traditional buildings in mountainous areas is also a wrong practice.  If constructions in mountainous areas continue at this pace, such areas will be like Delhi in a few decades. The carrying capacity and ecology of pilgrimage centres should also be considered during the Char Dham Yatra, he added.