The average maximum temperature for northwest and central India in April was the highest since records began 122 years ago, reaching 35.9 and 37.78 degrees Celsius (96.62 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively), according to with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Last month, New Delhi saw seven consecutive days above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), three degrees above the average temperature for April, according to CNN meteorologists. In some states, heat has closed schools, destroyed crops and put pressure on energy supplies, with officials warning residents to stay indoors and stay hydrated. The heat wave was also felt in neighboring Pakistan India, where the cities of Jacobabad and Sibi in the southeastern province of Sindh recorded high temperatures of 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 Fahrenheit) on Friday, according to data released to CNN by the Meteorological Department. Pakistan (PMD). ). According to the PMD, this was the highest temperature recorded in any city in the northern hemisphere that day. “This is the first time in decades that Pakistan is experiencing what many call a ‘year without spring,’” said Pakistan Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman. Temperatures in India are expected to fall this week, the IMD said, but experts say the climate crisis will cause more frequent and greater heatwaves, affecting more than one billion people in both countries. India is among the countries most expected to be affected by the effects of the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “This heat wave is definitely unprecedented,” said Dr Chandni Singh, lead author at IPCC and a senior fellow at the Indian Institute of Human Installations. “We have seen a change in its intensity, in the time of its arrival and in its duration. This has been predicted by climate experts and will have a gradual impact on health.”
LOSS OF CROPS
India experiences frequent heatwaves during the summer months of May and June, but this year temperatures began to rise in March and April. In the northern state of Punjab, known as the “Breadbasket of India”, this is causing heat stress, not only for millions of farm workers, but also for the wheat fields they rely on to feed their families and sell across the country. Gurvinder Singh, director of agriculture in Punjab, said an average increase of up to 7 degrees Celsius (44.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in April had reduced wheat yields. “Due to the heat we lost more than 5 quintals (500 kg) per hectare of April yield,” Singh told CNN on Monday. Chandni Singh, from the IPCC and not related to Gurvinder Singh, said farm workers were more likely to suffer from the oppressive heat. “People who work outdoors – farmers, construction, manual labor – will suffer more. They have fewer options to cool off and can not stay away from the heat,” he said.
SCHOOL CLOSURE AND POWER DISCONNECTIONS
In some parts of India, electricity demand has led to a shortage of coal, leaving millions without electricity for up to nine hours a day. Last week, coal reserves at three of Delhi’s five power plants relied on extremely low levels, falling below 25%, according to the Delhi Ministry of Energy. India canceled more than 650 passenger trains by the end of May to clear lines for more freight trains as the country seeks to replenish coal reserves at power plants, a senior Railways official told CNN. Indian Railways is a major supplier of coal to power stations across the country. Some states in India, including West Bengal and Odisha, have announced the closure of schools to deal with rising temperatures. “Children who have to travel to school, many of them with nosebleeds, can not tolerate this heat wave,” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters last week. In recent years, both the federal and state governments have implemented a number of measures to mitigate the effects of heat waves, including closing schools and issuing public health advice. But according to Chandni Singh, more needs to be done to prepare for future heat waves. “We do not have an action plan for heat and there are gaps in planning,” Singh said. “You can only adapt so much. This heat wave is testing the limits of human survival.”
