India's Three Extreme Weather Seasons Within Six Months

By M.Santhiran M.Santhiran, Bernama's correspondent in New Delhi shares his take on the Indian capital city and its unique social nuances. NEW DELHI, July 13 (Bernama) -- First it was bone chilling cold, then it was burning hot with the mercury reaching 42 degrees Celsius and now it rains cats and dogs. This is the drastic change in the Indian weather over the last six months of my stay here. After the scorching Indian summer, the initial monsoon showers were certainly a welcome respite and despite of the rain I continued with my walks at the nearby parks. However, as the days passed, it was no longer possible as the park became water-logged. The famous Rajpath and boulevard area that houses some of the famous New Delhi landmarks and a favourite haunt for Delhiites during the evenings and weekends is often under knee-deep water. The place appears like a mini Venice of India. It will take hours for the water to subside due to the rain intensity and poor drainage system. MASSIVE TRAFFIC JAMS AND POWER FAILURE Like the extreme cold and heat, the monsoon too made life difficult for those living in Delhi. Like how commuters in Kuala Lumpur struggle with the traffic chaos after heavy downpours, the scene in this city of 20 million people is even worst. And just to show readers how bad the traffic can get is my journey back home from a function at the External Affairs Ministry last Friday, where it took me three and a half hours over a 15 kilometre journey. Though it was my driver who was on the wheels, I was losing my patience as the car inched through. Each time the driver took an alternate route only to end up in another massive traffic gridlock. There was literally no way out! The problem was further compounded by the fact most roads here only have two lanes each way, and minor accidents are common here. For the record, according to the latest official figures there are 7.4 million registered vehicles on the roads of New Delhi. This is the combined number of vehicles of Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. Other than the traffic jams, power outage in New Delhi and most of other Indian cities occur regularly. Only that during normal days power outages will last only for few minutes but for past few days it lasted more than an hour. The outdated power grids could no longer cope with the domestic and industry power demand. BLAME GAME Over the week, the local media highlighted on the failure of the local and union government in dealing with the power problem. As usual the BJP led union government of Prime Minister Narindra Modi and the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal that rules the Delhi union territory pointed fingers at each other with no sight of short or long term solutions forthcoming. Experts interviewed by media viewed Indian cities were unlikely to tackle the power shortage woes up to another two decades in the absence of proper town planning and comprehensive drainage system. And due to the extreme changes in weather, it is advisable for visitors to India to get latest updates on weather before traveling. According to most travel agencies and locals, the best time to travel was between October and February. This is the time where even all Southern Indian states experience pleasant temperatures between 18 to 25 degrees Celsius, while Northern states between 10 to 20 degrees Celsius. --BERNAMA