Severe heatwaves in India in April, with temperatures above 40℃ for days, were exacerbated by human-induced climate change, which has made the planet 1.2℃ warmer than before, according to a global team of scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group.
As per the group’s estimate, climate change has, in fact, made this year’s heatwave across Asia 1°C hotter, while the existing El Niño conditions (warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean) made the heatwave a further 0.2°C hotter. The assertions are part of a collaborative study led by 13 scientists from universities and meteorological agencies in Sweden, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) after studying the possible influence of climate change on the extreme temperatures across Asia this year.
The findings come at a time when Northwest India is gearing up for another heatwave spell from May 16 onwards, with temperatures set to rise by 3-5℃ in the next few days.
SCORCHING HEAT WAVES MORE INTENSE, FREQUENT
Nearly all of Asia was extremely hot during April — which was also the hottest April on record with the globally averaged temperature 0.6°C above the 1991-2020 average. A prolonged heatwave scorched Odisha and West Bengal for over 20 days extending up to the first week of May. The mercury remained 6-7℃ above the seasonal average, leading to new heat records across several eastern and southern states.
With the world already 1.2°C warmer than the pre-industrial levels, similar heatwaves are expected to occur about once every 10 years, said the group which analyses historic weather data and climate models using peer-reviewed methods. The results align with the team’s 2023 study which found that climate change made such prolonged instances of extreme temperatures and humidity 30 times more likely in India.
High temperatures are normal across Asia during April, but in the larger South Asia region, an extremely warm April such as this one is a somewhat rarer event, the scientists said.
“This result is unsurprising, but important for highlighting the dangers of extreme heat in Asia. Unless the world takes massive, unprecedented steps to reduce emissions and keep warming to 1.5°C, extreme heat will lead to even greater suffering in Asia,” said Mariam Zachariah, from Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.
INCREASING RISK OF DANGEROUS HEAT
The study also pointed out the under-reporting of heatwave deaths and said the brunt is mostly borne by people living in poverty who have limited access to healthcare, clean drinking water, and lack options to stay cool. Across South Asia, the hundreds of millions of people who live in informal housing and work outdoors, like farmers, construction workers and street vendors, have been disproportionately affected by extreme heat.
“Heatwaves have always happened. But the additional heat, driven by emissions from oil, gas and coal, is resulting in death for many people. If humans continue to burn fossil fuels, the climate will continue to warm, and vulnerable people will continue to die,” said Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London.
While the existing heat action plans set out measures for dealing with heat, they are yet to protect some of the most vulnerable people, according to the researchers. There is urgent need to expand them with mandatory regulations, such as workplace interventions for all workers to address heat stress, such as scheduled rest breaks, fixed work hours, which are yet to become part of worker protection guidelines in the affected regions.
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