Too hot to handle? Blame it on Pune’s rising humidity levels

Pune: If city's weather has been resembling that of Mumbai or Chennai over the last five days, blame it on high levels of humidity.
Pihu Bhandarkar, a student, said, "Pune was never this humid. I remember, I could easily go for evening strolls even in May. However, due to the high humidity this year, one does not feel like venturing out."
And Pihu is not the only one feeling this way.Krishna C, an IT employee, said, "Till last year, I could easily go for night walks after dinner. This year, however, the weather has been quite stifling, making me feel lethargic most of the time."
D S Pai, director, Long Range Forecast at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said, "With rise in humidity, perspiration decreases which, in turn, brings down the cooling efficiency of the body putting people in distress. This is why people should consume more liquid and avoid venturing out in the sun."
Another factor that is causing discomfort is the flow of winds from the southwest and Arabian Sea, which have resulted in increased levels of humidity in the city.
Chief meteorologist at Skymet Mahesh Palawat said, "Humidity level is directly proportional to comfort/discomfort index and humidity, in turn, depends on temperature. Accordingly, with rise in temperature, humidity increases too, making people uncomfortable."
If humidity level is above 50, it causes more discomfort and leads to increased incidents of constipation, chronic headaches, feeling of fatigue and nausea. "The direct impact of this can be seen on the incidents of deaths in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa during the summer," he said.
If the temperature is somewhere between 30 and 32 degrees celsius, there is less humidity and lesser feeling of unease. "Increased levels of humidity cause continuous sweating and a constant feeling of restlessness due to which consuming more water is advisable," Palawat added.
Chest physician Nitin Abhyankar, however, has a different take. "Relatively over the past 30 years, Pune has become more humid, but what we are experiencing right now is hot and dry weather. Because of the massive heat wave all over the country, people are close to heat exhaustion and at times even heat strokes."
Abhyankar advises people to stay hydrated all the time. Also, he said, unnecessary walks under the sun and dark-coloured and tight clothes should be avoided. "Heat diffusion is necessary for the body to keep cool and since people in Pune don not sweat as much as those in Mumbai, they need to be all the more careful," he added.