Extreme Heat Waves claim over 450 lives in India as Global Warming Hits Asia: WMO Report
Global warming is real and if there ever was a doubt about its devastating consequences, a new report has set alarm bells ringing worldwide, especially in the Indian subcontinent. In India alone, two thousand lost their lives in the year 2024 owing to various natural disasters, including 450 to extreme heat waves. The temperature went considerably up (in excess of 50 degree Celsius) especially in the north of the country.
The year 2024 was recorded as the ‘warmest year’ globally since 1850, according to all the data sets used by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report by WMO said that the continent of Asia was heating up twice as quickly as compared to the rest of the world. Asia was about 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average in terms of the temperature, ranking as the warmest or second warmest year on record, depending on which dataset you considered. “The State of the Climate in Asia report presents information on changes in key climate indicators, including surface temperature, glacier mass and sea level, that will have huge implications for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region. Extreme weather is already causing headline-grabbing losses. The work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and their partners is increasingly important in saving lives and livelihoods,” said , .
Monsoon onset (June-September) in India was normal in 2024 at 108% of its climatological normal for the 1971-2020 period. However, heavy rains resulted in landslides in Wayanad, and killed over 350 people in the southern state of Kerala . Apart from that, about 1300 people lost their lives due to lightning across the country, according to the 's State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report published recently. This included the deaths of 72 people on July 10 resulting from adverse weather conditions, in conjunction with lightning, that affected various parts of the country, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
The study also reported the Arctic Ocean was experiencing accelerated ice melting, and the chunks of ice shifting far northward by the end of the season.The High-Mountain Asia (HMA) region is home to the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions, with glaciers covering an area of approximately 100 000 square km. It is known as the world’s Third Pole.
Increasingly, the last few decades have found most of these glaciers retreating. In 2024, almost all of these glaciers were observed losing considerable mass.
Conclusion
Global warming is here and it is here to stay. The experts warn that it might show its teeth sooner than believed earlier. The need of the hour for governments and the global community is to take preventive measures and effectively manage damage control.
