Temporary relief in Bhubaneswar from the deadly heat
Forcing Odisha government to shut down its grievance cell and schools till April 20, the heatwave in Bhubaneswar has given temporary relief to the residents. The day temperature has witnessed a drop -marginal though- only to be accompanied by high humidity.
Owing to comparatively cool and moist southerly winds, the city has seen a drop of 3 degrees in its day temperature. Though the temperature has come down to 42.9°C from the all-time highest 45.8°C, heatwave is still persisting in the area as the temperature is still 6 degrees above normal.
This temporary relief is likely to be maintained till tomorrow after which, temperatures will rise again. As per latest reports by Skymet Weather, heatwave will continue to prevail in the region as dry weather is likely to persist till the weekend.
Last night, after over 60 hours in the air and months of work on the ground, Solar Impulse completed its crossing of the Pacific. The landing at Moffett Field completed the most challenging part of its round-the-world journey, one interrupted by a long layover in Hawaii that allowed the team to sort out issues with the craft's batteries.
Almost eight decades after oil was first found in the country, officials on Monday are to unveil Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Vision 2030,” a blueprint seeking to reduce the current reliance on revenue from crude exports. King Salman has approved the package of developmental, economic, social and other programs. Prince Mohammed, known as MbS among diplomats and Saudi watchers, disclosed details of the plan in interviews with Bloomberg in Riyadh.
Many Germans fear the deal will lower standards for products, consumer protection and the labor market. Fifty-six percent of the Germans see free trade as a positive development, compared to 88 percent two years ago.
“Support for trade agreements is fading in a country that views itself as the global export champion,” Aart de Geus, Bertelsmann’s CEO, said.
Could off-grid electricity systems accelerate energy access?
Small-scale electricity systems provide uneven benefits and limited service options, according to a new study published today from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
Previous research has shown multiple benefits of electricity access for education, livelihoods, and health, in particular from the reduction in kerosene for lighting that lead to indoor air pollution. However, small-scale systems--which are often set up in an ad-hoc way in remote areas outside licensed power grids--have not previously been systematically studied. Off-grid systems can include a wide variety of energy sources, from a simple diesel generator powering a microgrid set up by a wealthy farmer to solar-powered home systems sold by entrepreneurs.
"These little systems have been proliferating widely across South Asia in the last ten years, sometimes in competition with each other" says IIASA researcher Narasimha Rao, who led the research design of the study. "We wanted to know what level of service and what benefits are people getting from these systems, and how these compare with larger scale electricity grids."
