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marvel_boy

It is normal?

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Is a record temperature for the state of Rajasthan.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/at-50-8c-chu...

edit - not quite a record - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Rajasthans-P...

Last year, May was very benevolent with cool weather. June was absolutely brutal with temperatures close to 40C even at 8pm in the evening. All in Delhi.

This year, May has been brutal already and I dread to think what June has in store. This is coming after a very long and very cold winter.

No but expected.

Yes

Go ahead and down vote. It remains a fact that Rajasthan crosses 50 degrees celsius every summer.

The downvotes are likely a result of the single-word reply, with no supporting source for the claim, not for the claim itself.

But the single word "no" reply got voted up.

Or just didn't get voted upon at all.

Technically summer doesn't start until June 21.

Summer solstice? That's midsummer, not the start of summer.

At least in Europe the summer solstice is regarded as the beginning of summer. It takes months for the land and water bodies to warm up, so this definition makes the seasons line up with temperatures observed in Europe. Depending on geography it might make less sense elsewhere, just as not every place has four seasons.

> At least in Europe the summer solstice is regarded as the beginning of summer.

I think in Europe it's called midsummer - middle of summer. That's what Wikipedia says as well.

> Traditionally, in many temperate regions (especially Europe), the summer solstice is seen as the middle of summer and referred to as "midsummer".

At least in my experience the summer solstice is called midsummer, but is not (any more?) regarded as the middle of summer. According to [1] summer is commonly seen as beginning in June, with the exact date varying between the first, the 21st, the day of the summer solstice (20th/21st) or the end of May. [2] gives some insight into the mechanism causing this definition of the seasons.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer#Summer_timing

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_lag

Where? May-early June is peak summer in India. Schools actually start early to mid June.

We consider April May as peak summer down south. School starts on May end June beginning.

That's the western definition of summer. In some cultures (not sure about India), solstice is the middle of summer.

In India, by summer solstice, large parts of the country are already under the sway of Monsoon rains. And so technically, the peak of summer is past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon

Not even Western in general. In New Zealand summer starts three weeks before the solstice, on December 1. Each season is three full calendar months.

It's not about culture alone, rather also about the weather patterns. In India, monsoon is the major climactic event around then. So it's not spring-summer-autumn-winter in India (in most part of the country), rather, it is summer-monsoon-winter

Where? In most of India summer starts after Holi. So late March

You're being provincial.

The 50.8°C temperature is the highest-ever recorded temperature in Rajasthan. The previous time it went over 50°C was in May 2016. So no, it is not "normal" temperatures and it is not a fact that they go that high every year.

So, then it becomes "normal" for now.

If this is normal, then you imply that the article linked by inflatableDodo is wrong?

Btw, I was kind of impressed, when visiting India and speaking to a few locals, that they don't see climate change to be a real thing, or at least to be such a big problem, and much overrated. The claim was basically that it was always very warm, and it is just normal that way, and they don't expect it to become much warmer. I'm not sure if that is just anecdotal or if that is the major opinion by locals.

The article I posted does appear to be wrong.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Rajasthans-P...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-36339523

That said, it does not mean that it is normal either.

There appears to be a cluster of temps over 50 recently, but before that you seemingly have to go back to 1956 to get over 50 degrees. I could be wrong again however. If someone has better data, I'd like it if they could link to it.

It is just anecdotal as opinions in India change every few kilometres.

However, the Indian Government has made its stance clear on Climate Change: https://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/undp_climate_cha...

and: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-natio...

> The claim was basically that it was always very warm, and it is just normal that way, and they don't expect it to become much warmer

I think they might have misunderstood you. They might have thought you are talking about weather and not climate change. Human body may not notice slight changes in temperature but the ecosystem does. For instance, those locals you spoke to may not have personally experienced any change but if you had instead asked them about droughts, drying of wells or yield of crops they would have definitely given you a totally different reply.

>It is just anecdotal as opinions in India change every few kilometres.

And every ten meters, when asking for directions, ha ha :)

And the best part is that some of them, if asked "where is so-and-so place" (hotel / restaurant / bus station / etc.), will dramatically raise their arm, point "that-a-way", and say "tum XYZ chowk ko cross karke seeeedddddhaaaayyy jao" (you cross XYZ square and go sttttrrrraaaiiiiggggghhhhhhhtttt) - without mentioning in which direction to straight from the square ...

Always good for a few giggles (apart from the frustration).

Indian here.

Why impressed by that, though?

Hm, maybe the wrong word in this context. It left a big impression on me, but not in a positive way.

> Btw, I was kind of impressed, when visiting India and speaking to a few locals, that they don't see climate change to be a real thing, or at least to be such a big problem, and much overrated. The claim was basically that it was always very warm, and it is just normal that way, and they don't expect it to become much warmer.

That's very much not my experience. And regardless of beliefs, actual government policy and individual action are largely emissions-reducing. See a comment I posted some time ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18164816

No.

It is now.

Maybe

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