Climate change behind India’s extreme heatwaves

India is witnessing record-breaking heat waves this year which was never seen before. The temperature has skyrocketed as the states such as Delhi, UP, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan have reported 45 degrees celsius in the month of April.

(Istock)

Usually, the temperature in India reaches its maximum mark during the month of May and June but the March & April is already turning out to be unbearable. As per the reports by IMD, March of this year was the hottest with an average temperature of 33.1°C.

The climate researcher at the University of California, Amir AghaKouchak highlighted that the current unusual heatwave in India is majorly due to the impacts of climate change. As per the data from the World Bank, India’s annual average temperature has increased at a rate of 0.62 °C between 1901 and 2020. While highlighting the same Aghakachouk said that “People think a degree or two might not matter,” but evidently this rise in the average temperature is directly affecting the daily temperature and causing extreme weather conditions.