India getting warmer, hotter: 2021 fifth warmest year since 1901, says IMD

What is the news?

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has recently released its report on India’s climate.

What are the IMD’s findings?

-2021 has been the fifth-warmest year since 1901, and the decade 2012-2021, was the warmest on record. 11 of the 15 warmest years on record were between 2007 and 2021.

It also found that India’s averaged annual mean temperature from 1901-2021 showed an increasing trend, particularly in the case of maximum temperatures. In 2021, the annual mean land surface air temperature was 0.44 degrees Celsius above the long period average (LPA- based on temperatures between 1981 and 2010).

What are the effects of rising average temperature?

It has a cascading effect on extreme weather events, crop patterns, and urban disaster management.

Heavy rainfall and flood-related incidents: It claimed over 750 lives with 215 in Maharashtra, 143 in Uttarakhand, 55 in Himachal Pradesh, 53 in Kerala and 46 in Andhra Pradesh.

Weather events: In 2021 alone, extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, floods, landslides, lightning, etc have been experienced in many parts of the country and 1750 lives were lost due to it. Among the casualties, Maharashtra topped the list with 340 deaths.

In 2020, around 1565 lives were lost due to extreme weather events, while the number was around 1560 in 2019.

Thunderstorms and lightning: It caused more than 780 deaths. Also, events like snowfall, cold waves, dust storms, etc have affected different parts of the country, leading to loss of life and livestock, injuries, and damage to crops and property.

Source: This post is based on the article “India getting warmer, hotter: 2021 fifth warmest year since 1901, says IMD” published in the Business Standard on  15th January 2022.