For 9 days of the month of May, the Sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. Therefore, these days there is severe heat in the areas around this line and the mercury reaches 45 to 50 degrees Celsius. In India, the Tropic of Cancer passes through eight states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram. This position of the Sun usually occurs between 25 May and 2 June.
Indian astronomical studies show that when the Sun enters Rohini Nakshatra, the heat is the most severe. Since the Sun remains in this Nakshatra for 9 days after entering Rohini Nakshatra. Therefore these 9 days are called Nautapa. India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh are most affected by this. Farmers’ experiences show that the more the sun’s heat these days, the better the rainfall.
The hotter the heat, the more rain
Good rainfall is considered a sign of prosperity for agricultural areas. Therefore, farmers consider these 9 days of heat as a symbol of good fortune. This year the heat had reached its peak since mid-April. Since April 15, there has hardly been a day when the mercury has been below 40. For the last one week, the mercury has been between 43 to 45 in the plains of Delhi and North. Whereas those 9 days of summer will start tomorrow from 25th May. If the heat wave does not subside in those days, then the rainy season has come!
Those 9 days of Nautapa will start from 25th May and will continue till 2nd June. In these 9 days, the temperature hardly drops below 40 on any day. These 9 days are called Nautapa in Indian astronomy. That is, 9 days of terrible heat. There is a lot of description of these 9 days in our proverbs. The hopes of the farmers remain dependent on these 9 days of the month of Jeth.
Like Hanuman has set fire to Lanka
Many medieval poets have also fondly remembered Jeth while describing the seasons. The intense heat of this month has been compared to that of Hanuman setting fire to Lanka. According to him, when Hanuman ji burnt Lanka, similar hot flames had appeared. Malik Mohammad Jayasi has written in his Barhamasa – Jeth jarai jag, chalai luvara, uthahi bawandar parhi angara, birah ghaji hanuvant hoi jaaga, Lanka dahi karai tanu laga!
However, he has described this heat and warmth like the condition of a widow who is distraught by the separation of her lover. But the heat of summer is similar. Interestingly, Nautapa falls in this month of Jeth. Ghagh has also written on Jeth that if you feel desolate in the month of Jeth, then know that there is hope of rain. That is, the amount of heat that will be there in Jeth, the same amount of rain will be there in the coming rainy season. That is why farmers consider it bad if there is no heat wave in Jeth.
cities destroyed trees
But these are all old beliefs. There is some other reason for the heat today. Even though it may be extremely hot in May-June, it is not necessary that it will start raining from July and will continue till September. Today, due to the way greenery is being destroyed from the earth and rampant water exploitation from water sources, natural rainfall has started to stop.
Cities are expanding and multi-storey buildings are being built in rows, they have changed all the laws of nature. Now neither summer nor winter nor rain come in their natural form, rather the movement of the weather has changed. Pollution has taken a heavy toll on the weather. Therefore the heat itself has expanded. The days of rainy and winter seasons have continuously decreased. Due to global warming, the Earth’s atmosphere is continuously becoming warmer.
Ring of greenhouse gases between the Earth and the Sun
Thus, the earth naturally gets heat from the sun’s rays. These rays pass through our atmosphere and hit the earth’s surface and then get reflected from there and return back. But now this cycle has worsened. Now there is no void between the Earth and the Sun but a circle of greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases block the returning sun’s rays. Due to which the heat falls on the earth. Humans, animals and plants require a temperature of at least 16 degrees Celsius to survive.
Scientists believe that due to increase in greenhouse gases this cover becomes denser and due to this the sun’s rays are unable to pass through this cover. This is the reason for increasing heat. This cover is dense over the entire earth. This is called global warming. Heat is increasing all over the world.
Earth’s temperature is increasing
The more greenhouse gases surround the Earth, the more greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides etc. expand. These gases block the reflected rays of the sun. Because of this the earth’s temperature is continuously increasing. A circle of high pressure has formed in the atmosphere which does not allow hot winds to blow over the earth. The result is scorching heat. On top of that, the westerly winds coming from Rajasthan and Pakistan increase the heat wave. After this El Nino effect comes and the rain stops.
El Nino is actually a warming of the trade winds that blow from the Pacific Ocean. As a result, summer days keep increasing in India. These trade winds brought the gift of rain to South Asia. But if they themselves are hot then where will the rain come from? The opposite of this is La Nina which is a sign of good rainfall.
possibility of El Nino
The only hope for relief from the heat this year is that there are chances of south-west monsoon. There is a possibility that monsoon will hit the Kerala coast by 26th May. Also, the south-east monsoon arising from the Bay of Bengal will bless Andaman. At present, there are chances of it progressing further, as are the chances of El Nino becoming active.
According to meteorologists, there is a 92 percent chance of El Nino becoming active and this trend will last a long time, perhaps till the end of 2026. Not only will it have a bad impact on the Kharif crop, dairy products will also be affected. As a result, inflation will increase further. If El Nino continues for too long, it causes drought and famine. The winds of the equatorial Pacific region were always useful in maritime trade, hence they are called trade winds. When they become hot, the possibility of drought increases in South Asia.
Danger of El Nino in India only
Since monsoon remains active only in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the ill effects of El Nino are also seen in these areas. El Nino has occurred three times since 1950. Before this, the country had suffered from El Nino in the year 2015-16. Although El Nino keeps coming, but when Super El Nino comes then it is natural to get worried.
There is a global conspiracy behind exaggerating the fears of El Nino. Many times such apprehensions are expressed to distract the governments. Still, its potential danger cannot be ruled out. They should be viewed in the same way as the tornadoes originating from the Bay of Bengal. If governments are alert then it can definitely be overcome. Arrangements to prevent it can be made in advance. Otherwise El Nino can destroy many things.
The joys and sorrows of La Nina and El Nino!
A large part of India is tropical and some part is sub-tropical. But the climate of the entire country is considered tropical monsoon. On one hand, there are the Himalayan peaks which are of polar climate. On the other side are the plains of Ganga Yamuna and the plateau of the south and the vast coastal line. Due to which there are three seasons in this country – winter, summer and rainy.
In Europe and America, rain is not a season but it can happen anytime and never. But his coming and going in India is certain. Therefore, excess or deficiency of any kind of weather in India affects its productivity. This is the reason why agricultural scientists start measuring the speed of La Nina or El Nino from the last week of March. But at present the good news is that monsoon is coming soon.
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