Himalaya

This post demonstrates the functionalities to deal with time zones in Python by means of comparative assessment of hourly solar irradiance data for four cities in 2020 based on different time zones.When I start my work in Bonn, Germany on the first day of October at 9 am, it is already afternoon at 12:45 pm in my hometown in Chitwan, Nepal. My friend in Sydney, Australia has already finished his work schedule at 6 pm on the same day. Another friend in New York, the USA is still sleeping as it is 3 am in morning there.…

A comprehensive assessment of time series resampling of solar irradiance using VBA, using Python, and using Python via Excel VBARecently, I have been working with Excel-based interface and models frequently. During this time, I became acquainted with the Visual Basic for Application (VBA) for Office, which is a powerful programming language to extend Office applications. VBA is used to automate repetitive tasks, extend user interactions, and interact between different Office applications, making the routine tasks more…

Revealing the 'invisible' glacier loss underwater. Credit: TPE A new study reveals that the mass loss of lake-terminating glaciers in the greater Himalaya has been significantly underestimated, due to the inability of satellites to see glacier changes occurring underwater, with critical implications for the region's future projections of glacier disappearance and water resources.…

John Keay, a correspondent in Kashmir in the 1960s, has written extensively on the Himalayas and on exploration. I enjoyed reading his book The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named. It is an illuminating account of the longest measurement ever of the earth’s surface that stretched 1,600 miles and took over 40 years to complete. Considering his prolific oeuvre, I was curious about what more he had to say about the world’s highest mountain range in his latest book, Himalaya: Exploring…

Reading pdf file, utilizing regular expressions, exporting to Excel and Word document, and converting it back to pdf formatRecently for a self-study project, I had to go through an 800-page pdf file. Each chapter of the file contained a common set of questions. And I needed the answers to specific questions in each chapter. Now it’d take me forever to go through each page of the document and assess the answers to those questions. I was wondering if there was a quick way to scan through each page and extract only the…

Both mystics and sceptics are in search of truth but the paths they take and means they use seem quite different from each other. What made you bring them together in this book? Mysticism and scepticism are not in any way antithetical to each other. The mystic path is not one of fuzzy romanticism. It is incisive; it is discriminating. It is capable of enormous leaps in understanding. Scepticism is an aspect of that quest. There is often disappointment and disillusion in the journey of faith – that too must be examined.…

...Visitors to Darjeeling are urged to rise early. From this ramshackle city slung across once lush hillsides at the northern apex of the Indian state of West Bengal the best chance of a close encounter with the world’s most spectacular urban backdrop comes at first light. Even then you may be disappointed. Kangchenjunga (Kangchendzonga), our planet’s third highest mountain, is like the tiger in the forest – ever out there but not readily spotted. Or more accurately, it’s ever up there. Instead of straining towards some…

Exploring the underlying data, uncertainties, and science behind the historical global temperature anomalyIn recent years, extreme weather events have become a norm rather than rare occurrences. In 2022, torrential monsoon triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history displacing about 33 million people. On the other hand, China experienced the most severe heatwave in six decades, worsening the drought that affected food production, industry, and infrastructure in vast areas of the country. Fans have…

Discovering the shortest route to travel across the capital cities of 16 federal states of Germany while visiting each city once using the Christofides algorithm.I have been residing in Germany for six years now. Germany is composed of 16 federal states, and I have visited five state capitals until now. Recently, a thought struck my mind:I want to travel across the capital cities of all 16 federal states and visit each city exactly once while starting in Berlin and ending in Berlin. What would be the shortest possible…

Reading image data and adding it to a plot using MatplotlibAdding an external image or icon to an existing plot not only increases the aesthetics but also adds to its clarity from a holistic viewpoint. The external image could be a logo of a company or product, a flag of a country, etc. These images help consolidate the message conveyed to the readers. There are different packages available for image processing in Python. Some notable ones include OpenCV, imageio, scikit-image, Pillow, NumPy, SciPy, and Matplotlib.…