How this driver found a unique way to beat the extreme heat in New Delhi
Amid a brutal early-season heat wave that sent temperatures well above 100 F in India, one man’s ingenious invention has found a way to keep passengers cool and happy.
By
Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published May 4, 2022 1:00 PM EDT
|
Updated May 6, 2022 5:12 AM EDT
Autorickshaws are ubiquitous on New Delhi’s roads, but this vehicle stands out by featuring a garden on its roof to keep passengers cool.
This spring has been brutally hot in India. Above-normal temperatures resulted in the warmest March on record for the country, and the heat didn't let up in April as multiple lengthy and dangerous heat waves gripped the nation.
In the midst of the early-season heat waves, some residents have found creative ways for themselves and their customers to keep cool.
One such man is Mahendra Kumar, owner of the so-called "moving garden," an autorickshaw with a living, green roof. Autorickshaws, the motorized versions of the popular human-powered, pulled or cycle rickshaws, are a staple on the streets of New Delhi, India's capital city. Rickshaws are smaller modes of transportation that allow drivers and passengers alike to zip through crowded city streets.
Kumar's green garden roof aims to help passengers keep cool amidst searing heat.
This rooftop garden on wheels comprises more than 20 varieties of shrubs, crops and flowers. The plants on Kumar's rickshaw keep direct sunlight from radiating intense heat straight onto the roof itself. The plants soak up the sunshine and photosynthesize, generating oxygen while also reducing temperatures in the immediate vicinity.
This green rooftop helps to create essentially a "natural air conditioner" for passengers, Kumar told AFP via a translator. Kumar's passengers are normally quite happy to see the plants atop the vehicle he added.
Plants growing on top of an autorickshaw in India in an attempt to create a "natural air conditioner." (AFPTV)
Typical high temperatures in New Delhi jump to just over 100 F (38 C) by the end of April and remain at or above that level through the middle of June. Once monsoon season kicks in, typically in June, average temperatures dip only slightly while rainfall increases dramatically.
During the most recent heat wave to end April in the nation's capital, air temperatures soared to or just above 110 F (43 C) for at least three days straight. Heat at this level has been shown to occasionally be intense enough to melt tar on roads.
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On Saturday, April 30, New Delhi hit 112 F, the highest temperature of the entire month, but fell just shy of the city's all-time record for April. The all-time record high temperature for April in New Delhi is 114.1 F (45.6 C), according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
The end of April wasn't the only portion of the month during which abnormal heat was widespread.
The director-general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mrutyunjay Mohaptra, told Reuters that northwestern and central India recorded average maximum temperatures of 96.6 F and 100 F (35.9 and 37.78 C) respectively in April. These values are the highest ever recorded for each region since records began in 1900.
A man covers himself with a piece of cloth to protect from heat as he walks outside a metro station in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)
New Delhi was among the affected cities, ending the month approximately 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) above normal. Only two days of the entire month failed to reach or surpass 100 F (38 C).
Unrelenting April heat continued to bake India following a record-breaking March. The heat was particularly intense in New Delhi. There were just two days during the month of April on which the high temperature didn't reach or exceed 100 degrees F (38 C): On April 1 the temperature topped out at 98 F (37 C), and on April 21 the high made it to 97 F (36 C).
April 21 was the last day in recent weeks that the high temperature did not manage to hit 100 F (38 C) or higher.
March of 2022 was the hottest March for India as a whole since 1901, according to meteorologists from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). When averaged across the entire country, March's average high temperature was an astonishing 3.35 F (1.86 C) above the climatological average.
A brief reprieve from the heat has unfolded during the first days of May, and conditions have begun to trend closer to normal. However, AccuWeather forecasters caution that the brief break in stifling heat will be short-lived.
Forecasters are monitoring atmospheric signals for another prolonged stretch of above-average heat to set up, especially across western and northern portions of the country, this weekend through at least the middle of next week.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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How this driver found a unique way to beat the extreme heat in New Delhi
Amid a brutal early-season heat wave that sent temperatures well above 100 F in India, one man’s ingenious invention has found a way to keep passengers cool and happy.
By Mary Gilbert, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published May 4, 2022 1:00 PM EDT | Updated May 6, 2022 5:12 AM EDT
Autorickshaws are ubiquitous on New Delhi’s roads, but this vehicle stands out by featuring a garden on its roof to keep passengers cool.
This spring has been brutally hot in India. Above-normal temperatures resulted in the warmest March on record for the country, and the heat didn't let up in April as multiple lengthy and dangerous heat waves gripped the nation.
In the midst of the early-season heat waves, some residents have found creative ways for themselves and their customers to keep cool.
One such man is Mahendra Kumar, owner of the so-called "moving garden," an autorickshaw with a living, green roof. Autorickshaws, the motorized versions of the popular human-powered, pulled or cycle rickshaws, are a staple on the streets of New Delhi, India's capital city. Rickshaws are smaller modes of transportation that allow drivers and passengers alike to zip through crowded city streets.
Kumar's green garden roof aims to help passengers keep cool amidst searing heat.
This rooftop garden on wheels comprises more than 20 varieties of shrubs, crops and flowers. The plants on Kumar's rickshaw keep direct sunlight from radiating intense heat straight onto the roof itself. The plants soak up the sunshine and photosynthesize, generating oxygen while also reducing temperatures in the immediate vicinity.
This green rooftop helps to create essentially a "natural air conditioner" for passengers, Kumar told AFP via a translator. Kumar's passengers are normally quite happy to see the plants atop the vehicle he added.
Plants growing on top of an autorickshaw in India in an attempt to create a "natural air conditioner." (AFPTV)
Typical high temperatures in New Delhi jump to just over 100 F (38 C) by the end of April and remain at or above that level through the middle of June. Once monsoon season kicks in, typically in June, average temperatures dip only slightly while rainfall increases dramatically.
During the most recent heat wave to end April in the nation's capital, air temperatures soared to or just above 110 F (43 C) for at least three days straight. Heat at this level has been shown to occasionally be intense enough to melt tar on roads.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
On Saturday, April 30, New Delhi hit 112 F, the highest temperature of the entire month, but fell just shy of the city's all-time record for April. The all-time record high temperature for April in New Delhi is 114.1 F (45.6 C), according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
The end of April wasn't the only portion of the month during which abnormal heat was widespread.
The director-general of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mrutyunjay Mohaptra, told Reuters that northwestern and central India recorded average maximum temperatures of 96.6 F and 100 F (35.9 and 37.78 C) respectively in April. These values are the highest ever recorded for each region since records began in 1900.
A man covers himself with a piece of cloth to protect from heat as he walks outside a metro station in New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)
New Delhi was among the affected cities, ending the month approximately 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) above normal. Only two days of the entire month failed to reach or surpass 100 F (38 C).
Unrelenting April heat continued to bake India following a record-breaking March. The heat was particularly intense in New Delhi. There were just two days during the month of April on which the high temperature didn't reach or exceed 100 degrees F (38 C): On April 1 the temperature topped out at 98 F (37 C), and on April 21 the high made it to 97 F (36 C).
April 21 was the last day in recent weeks that the high temperature did not manage to hit 100 F (38 C) or higher.
March of 2022 was the hottest March for India as a whole since 1901, according to meteorologists from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). When averaged across the entire country, March's average high temperature was an astonishing 3.35 F (1.86 C) above the climatological average.
A brief reprieve from the heat has unfolded during the first days of May, and conditions have begun to trend closer to normal. However, AccuWeather forecasters caution that the brief break in stifling heat will be short-lived.
Forecasters are monitoring atmospheric signals for another prolonged stretch of above-average heat to set up, especially across western and northern portions of the country, this weekend through at least the middle of next week.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo