Pre-monsoon heat of 2022 overtakes 2016 in India: CSE
Even as the monsoon has made its footfalls felt across the country, there seems to be little respite from the searing heat – aided by steep rises in humidity levels — in many pockets. The heat waves lashing India this summer are symptomatic of the anomalous temperature trends that are expected to worsen with growing climate change impacts. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed some key findings which states 2022 pre-monsoon summer heat trends overtake 2016 as the second hottest pre-monsoon season on record for India As per the finding, the seasonal average air temperature for 2022 — pre-monsoon or summer (March, April and May as per IMD classification) — is 1.24°C warmer than the baseline trends that relate to 1971-2000 climatology. “This is a very disturbing trend as policy preparedness to mitigate rising heat due to climate change is nearly absent in India. Without heat action plans, rising air temperature, radiating heat from land surfaces, concretisation, heat-trapping built structures, waste heat from industrial processes and air conditioners, and erosion of heat dousing forests, urban greens and waterbodies will worsen public health risks. This requires urgent time-bound mitigation,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, CSE. “Understanding the overall temperature anomaly, extreme heat conditions, and the mixed trends in heat patterns across different regions of India has become necessary to assess the emergent risk. Currently, the attention is largely on the maximum daily heat levels and extreme conditions of heat waves. But it is equally important to pay attention to the overall rising temperature and humidity trends in different regions to understand the gravity of the problem,” says Avikal Somvanshi, senior programme manager, Urban Lab, CSE.
