Heavy rains have cleaned atmosphere: environmentalist

Nainital, Oct 11 (PTI) Heavy rains which brought a trail of disasters in Uttarakhand this monsoon season may have had their pluses in reducing the effect of enviromental warming and recharging ground water table, an environmentalist has claimed. One of the benefits of the torrential rains was that it has removed from atmosphere black carbon mass, a major contributor to global warming and melting of glaciers in Himalayas, said Surendra Pratap Singh, who is also an advisor to Uttarakhand Planning Commission. The black carbon mass is a major polluting agent and a health hazard causing asthma and other such respiratory diseases, said the former Vice Chancellor of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. However, due to the heavy rains this year it would now take several months for black carbon to accumulate again in the air, he added. Moreoever, Singh said, the heavy rains has also recharged the ground water table as well as enhanced the soil fertility in downstream areas. It has also removed the soil and water pollutants and which would help in increasing the productivity of crops. The ground water table in the plain areas in the state has risen by 10 to 70 feet due to the monsoon, Singh claimed.PTI COR DPT MS