Climate crisis devastation highlighted by persistent heatwaves in India and Pakistan

BLISTERING HEATS HITTING SOUTHASIA OVER THE NEXT TWO MONTHS has continued into this week, creating more difficult conditions.

India and Pakistan have both recorded Celsius temperatures in high 40s, which is far higher than what was expected for spring. This adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to the disastrous effects of climate change.

April was Pakistan’s second-driest month since 1961, with many areas experiencing “extreme[ly] deficient rainfall”, and April is the hottest monthThese 60 years have been the most productive in the history of the country.

India’s average maximum temperatures were at their highest point in the country. Any March in 122 YearsExtreme heat can even affect the northernmost regions.

According to India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences, deaths due to heatwaves have increased by more that 60% since 1980.

Extended hot and dry weather can have many consequences. A lack of water can lead to a reduction in the reservoirs, which can affect the growth of crops or orchards.

In Pakistan, the public has been asked to make “judicious” use of water “in all aspects of life” and to avoid unnecessary exposure to direct sunlight.

A section of River Yamuna in India, where the riverbed was almost dry up on 2 mai 2022

Source: Manish Sharma/PA Images

Floods could be triggered by melting snow and ice on mountain peaks; air quality has deteriorated; large areas of land are at high risk of extreme fires.

A bridge linking Pakistan and China was damaged by flooding and a glacial lake burst, causing it to collapse and fall. The current caused the bridge to bow and give way.

Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state, experiences rain, hail, and some snow around this time of the year. However, parts of Himachal Pradesh have not received any precipitation in the past two months, and hundreds of forest fires broke out in recent weeks. 

Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization Professor Petteri Taalas explained that heatwaves “have multiple and cascading impacts not just on human health, but also on ecosystems, agriculture, water and energy supplies and key sectors of the economy”.

“It is premature to attribute the extreme heat in India and Pakistan solely to climate change. However, it is consistent with what we expect in a changing climate,” Professor Taalas said in a statement.

“Heatwaves are more frequent and more intense and starting earlier than in the past.”

The heatwave has been exacerbated by higher temperatures and increased energy demand. A shortfall in energy supply has also caused power outages.

India has granted a “special dispensation” to the Ministry of Coal to relax certain environmental compliance rules to allow mines to operate at increased capacities in an effort to restore supply.

Climate scientists know that coal burning is a major cause of climate change.

Climate crisis

Although it is too early for us to know if the extreme heat in the region is due to climate change, Professor Taalas from the WMO pointed it out. It is well known that the climate crisis is causing heatwaves more often and more intensely when they do occur.

A report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year found that human-caused climate change is Already affectingMany extreme weather and climate conditions occur around the world. These extremes include heatwaves, droughts, and storms.

The IPCC said the scale of recent changes to the climate system is “unprecedented” over hundreds and thousands of years and that human influence is the primary driver of global warming.

“Deep reductions” in greenhouse gas emissions are crucial to limit rising temperatures and prevent global catastrophes. 

Scientists can use a model to determine whether a particular weather event was affected by climate change. They can also run it to examine different scenarios of how the world would look if humans hadn’t produced greenhouse gases or burned fossil fuels.

They can then study whether a heatwave (or storm) would be as probable in a world that has no human influence on the climate.

Talk to The Journal earlier this year, Dr Friederike Otto of World Weather Attribution (WWA), which analyses links between climate and weather, said that heatwaves have been made “more likely, more intense, because of climate change”.

“For heatwaves, climate change is really an absolute gamechanger and often makes the events orders of magnitude more likely,” Dr Otto said.

Research such as the WWA’s is a new field that is becoming more popular internationally. However, it is still a relatively recent investigation by The JournalThe Irish government has There are no plans to drive the cars in studiesInformation on the role climate change will play in Ireland’s future extreme events. 

In Europe, the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported a record level of extreme weather last year, including the warmest summer and hottest day ever registered in Europe – 48.8C in Sicily, Italy.

“2021 was a year of extremes including the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, flooding and wind droughts in western Europe,” the service’s director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.

“This shows that the understanding of weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly relevant for key sectors of society.”

Additional reporting by AFP