India is among the nations worst affected by global warming, with multiple extreme weather records shattered in 2024.
The year 2024 is set to become the warmest on record, following an extended period of unusually high global mean temperatures. This trend was seen due to the presence of super El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, which had peaked in the fall of 2023. Combined with human-induced climate change, it has caused a significant rise in temperatures worldwide. The effects of global warming have been evident across the globe, with a notable surge in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. India has been among the hardest-hit nations, with multiple extreme weather records shattered in 2024.
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Winter Season (January And February)
Right off the bat, India saw the ninth driest January since 1901, with a cumulative rainfall of 7.2 mm, which was 58% lower than the long period average (1971-2020). Rainfall over northwest India during January 2024 (3.1 mm) was the second lowest since the India Meteorological Department (IMD) started record-keeping. According to the rainfall data, January recorded 82 heavy-to-extremely-heavy rainfall events across the country. Out of this, 4 were categorised as extremely-heavy-rainfall events, i.e. more than 204.5 mm of rain. At 14.66°C, January recorded the fourth highest minimum temperature for the month since 1901 — 0.97°C above the long-term average. Central India and the south peninsula experienced warmer-than-usual minimum temperatures, and both the regions recorded their second-warmest minimum temperatures.
February saw below-normal rainfall to the tune of 13%. The entire country, barring east and northeast subdivisions, recorded deficit rainfall. In particular, the south peninsula received just 0.7 mm of rainfall, which was the 15th lowest February rainfall since 1901. Absence of rainfall led to a rise in mercury, paving the way for record-breaking temperatures in the month. India recorded the second highest minimum temperature during February since 1901, with the average minimum temperature settling 0.79°C above the long-term average. The south peninsula recorded the warmest February since 1901, with the highest ever maximum, minimum and mean temperatures during the month. Central India also witnessed its highest minimum temperatures for February. In a span of two months, six persons reportedly died due to the cold wave across Bihar in January. Meanwhile, nine people lost their lives due to extreme events in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. (Data Source: IMD)
Pre-Monsoon season (April-May)
According to a report, ‘India 2024: An Assessment of Extreme Weather Events’ , India experienced extreme weather events on 83 out of the 92 days in the pre-monsoon months of 2024. Lightning and storm events were recorded on 71 days, heatwaves on 54 days, and heavy rains, floods, and landslides on 40 days. Madhya Pradesh was the most affected, experiencing extreme weather on 49 days, followed by Maharashtra with 44 days, and West Bengal with 33 days. These events claimed 507 lives, and impacted 0.12 million hectares of cropland. India battled an intense and prolonged heatwave season in 2024.
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According to data released by the IMD, the country witnessed 536 heatwave days during summer 2024, which was the highest since 2010, when 578 heatwave days were recorded. May, the peak heatwave month, recorded the fourth-highest mean temperature in 2024 since 1901. Northwest India was worst affected, with the third highest maximum ever with an anomaly of 1.81ºC during the month. As reported by government departments and media houses, record-breaking heatwaves this year resulted in over 200 deaths, while nearly 25,000 suffered a heatstroke. According to the Election Commission of India, 33 polling officers died from heatstroke in Uttar Pradesh due to the lack of cooling facilities at polling stations during the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Experts have claimed this is a conservative number as this did not include the extended health impact of prolonged heatwave condition.
The persistent rise in global warming also led to a spike in nighttime temperatures across India. July, August and September recorded the highest minimum temperatures since 1901. The south peninsular region has seen a constant rise in night-time temperatures around the year. The World Health Organization recommends maintaining room temperatures at 24°C during the night for optimal health. However, data from Climate Trends and Climate Central reveals that climate change added approximately 50 to 80 nights per year with temperatures exceeding 25°C across cities in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh, between 2018 and 2023. Disrupted sleep caused by high night-time temperatures can significantly harm physical and mental health, impair cognitive function, and reduce life expectancy.
Forest-fire incidents reached unprecedented levels during the season. In April 2024, Uttarakhand alone recorded 5,710 fire incidents, a dramatic increase from 1,046 in April 2023. Data from the Uttarakhand Forest Department reveals that, between November 23, 2023, and June 19, 2024, the state witnessed 11,256 forest-fire incidents. The significant surge in fire incidents is attributed to higher ambient air temperatures and extended dry spells resulting from erratic snowfall and rainfall patterns.
Monsoon (June-September)
India recorded bountiful monsoon rains with an excess of 108% in 2024. However, a major contribution came in the form of extremely-heavy rainfall, triggering a series of extreme weather events. During the season, India recorded 2,592 very-heavy-rainfall events, which can be categorised as rainfall ranging from 115.6 mm to 204.5 mm. Meanwhile, 472 extremely-heavy-rainfall events (more than 204.5 mm) were reported during the span of four months. Extreme weather events (floods & heavy rains, lightning, thunderstorms and heatwave) in India claimed 1,509 lives during the monsoon season 2024 (June, July, August, September). According to IMD data, Kerala was the worst-affected state, with 401 casualties, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam with 289, 152 and 102 fatalities, respectively. The aforementioned data reflects the impact of warming climatic conditions on the Indian monsoon. The rise in extreme weather events has been constant due to a persistent rise in the average temperatures. The Wayanad landslides of 2024 were a grim reflection of what a constantly warming atmosphere can do to the fragile mountain region of India. The town of Wayanad, once known for its cool, humid climate with consistent monsoon rains, is now grappling with hotter summers and prolonged dry spells. Changes in monsoon patterns have led to rains occurring as intense downpours, significantly increasing the risk of landslides, as seen this year. Dry soils, unable to absorb water effectively, cause runoff during heavy rains, which triggers landslides, as happened in Wayanad.
Erratic monsoon weather patterns have skewed the spatial distribution of rainfall across the country. Of the 17 weeks of the monsoon season, eight saw negative all-India weekly anomalies. Meanwhile, among the nine weeks with positive rainfall anomalies, one occurred in June, four in July and two each in August and September. Apart from the first week of June, all subsequent weeks received below-normal rainfall.
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Post-Monsoon Season (August-December)
October began on a hotter note, with India recording the highest mean temperature ever during the month. Barring east & northeast India, the other three sub-divisions — northwest, central and south peninsula — recorded the highest minimum temperatures since 1901. November, known for pleasant weather conditions, continued to struggle with above-average temperatures. November 2024 was the warmest November in India since records began in 1901. Northwest India experienced the most significant temperature increase, recording its highest-ever mean temperature with an anomaly of 1.37°C. This can be attributed to the absolute absence of rainfall for the majority of the month. December continues with the warming streak, with rains likely to be few and far between. India’s nodal weather agency has forecast a warmer winter season this year, with below-average cold spells.
Besides the rise in land surface temperatures, ocean temperatures have also resulted in a rise in cyclogenesis. The year has witnessed four cyclones so far, namely Dana, Asna, Remal and Fengal. Dana and Remal went on to become severe cyclones. The latest storm, Fengal, struggled to intensify into a cyclonic storm but the rise in the sea surface temperatures due to ocean warming pushed it to that limit. According to a study, ‘Changing status of tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean’, very severe cyclones have increased by 150% in the Indian Ocean. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCSS) says the frequency and intensity have registered a rise in the north Indian Ocean, which is a hotspot for climate change. The Indian Ocean has witnessed the highest rise in sea temperatures due to warming atmospheric conditions.
Air pollution is another pressing challenge for India, which is further exacerbated by climate change. Combined together, the deteriorating air quality has exposed millions of people to serious health challenges, including mortality. Delhi’s air quality remained in the ‘severe’ category for an entire week in November. The absence of precipitation, a natural mechanism for clearing pollutants from the atmosphere, persisted throughout October and much of November.
The Way Forward
With lesser control over the changing climatic conditions, India now needs to look for better climate resilience measures, and equitable access to cooling solutions in the form of Heat Action Plans and Climate Action Plans to address the challenges posed by warming. In a bid to achieve this, the Government of India launched its ambitious ‘Mission Mausam’ in September. A remarkable and transformative initiative, the mission aims to boost India’s weather and climate-related science, research, and services. The plan will boost the capacity of early-warning systems, allowing all stakeholders to be able to tackle extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change in a better way.
The way forward is to focus on building a comprehensive adaptation strategy to safeguard the lives, livelihood and ecosystems from overlapping climate impacts affecting the country’s diverse geography.
NOTE – This article was originally published in news.abplive and can be viewed here
