Grave Concern! Heatwave In India Linked With Global Climate Crisis: Experts

For India, the months of March and April are proving to be the hottest ever. Currently, several parts of the country are engulfed in the dry heatwave that has wreaked havoc. The next upcoming months will provide no relief whatsoever from the excruciating heat.

Weather officials have suggested that the next 4-5 days will get even hotter as India will be enveloped by a heatwave that extends from west and Northwest India to the country's eastern region. With May being just days away, this year's summer season can pose a health risk and trigger productivity loss. Not only that, several experts have linked this to the ongoing global climate change crisis.

Impact Of Climate Change

An institute situated in London's Imperial College has made the alarming connection between the heatwave and climate change. The consistent rise in the same will adversely impact people's health, especially those who toil in the heat to earn their livelihood. The sudden temperature rise is witnessed in different parts of the world, not just in India. According to Hindustan Times, the Earth's polar region experiences simultaneous heat waves. In Antarctica, it was 4.8C higher than average and in the Arctic, it was 3.3C higher.

A senior lecturer in Climate Science at Imperial College's Grantham Institute, Friederike Otto, told the news publication, "India's current heatwave has been made hotter by climate change that results from human activities like burning coal and other fossil fuels. This is now the case for every heatwave, everywhere in the world. Until net greenhouse gas emissions end, heatwaves in India and elsewhere will become hotter and more dangerous."

2022 started on an unusual note in terms of the weather conditions. Heatwaves began exceptionally early this year in March itself, sweeping through most of the country. "It is extremely unusual, and Heatwaves started very early in March and over a large region. Its severity is likely over large areas in the north and east India during the next two months," the Ministry of Earth Science's former secretary named, M Rajeevan, said.

Health And Agriculture

The intensifying heatwave has its additional risk. The weather condition has increased heat-related deaths in Asia when it comes to health. The Indian Institute of Public Health director in Gujarat, Dilip Malvankar, explains the consequences, "Extreme heat puts additional load on the circulatory system, which has to do additional work to cool the body via sweat. This may lead to dehydration and increased metabolism. Infant mortality will rise because children cannot control their body temperature well."

The excruciating warm spell is wreaking havoc on the country's wheat yield. For a winter crop harvested in spring, extreme weather conditions will impact its growth, leading to a drastic drop in the output. Several analysts suggest that there is nothing but bad news in this regard. Therefore, food inflation and price rise are seen as unfortunate consequences of the same.

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