Extreme Climate Events in India Unveiled

In a series of devastating events, various regions around the world have been grappling with extreme weather conditions, underscoring the urgent need for global action against climate change.

This year, at least 25 lives were lost in Maharashtra, a state in western India, due to the extreme heat. The region experienced record-breaking temperatures, with the mercury climbing to almost 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) across northern regions of the country. The extreme heat was 30 times more likely due to climate change, according to a rapid attribution study published by climate scientists in May.

India, in particular, has faced numerous challenges this year. The country had its hottest March in more than a century, and this summer was one of the hottest on record with 203 heat wave days. The present heat action plans in India would be stronger if they were based on a heat wave index that took into account both temperature and humidity anomalies.

Power outages are common during the summer due to the immense energy demand from air conditioners, and people in the worst-affected areas had to make do with two hours of electricity each day this year. This has put a significant strain on the population, especially on those like Deepak Saha, a hawker in Kolkata, who makes $3.77 a day on average and cannot afford bottled water, which costs $0.25 in Kolkata.

Elsewhere, a third of neighboring Pakistan remains submerged after months of erratic weather, including an extraordinary monsoon that dropped nearly three times the average amount of rain for this period. At least 1,325 people have died, and over 33 million have been impacted in some manner.

Across the globe, Europe is experiencing a drought that may be the worst in 500 years, with drought warnings or alerts issued for more than 60% of land in the European Union. France issued heat alerts, and thousands of people in France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece were forced to leave their homes as a result of deadly wildfires.

The climate crisis is expected to be a story of fire and water, with some communities burning and others drowning. This is evident in Assam, where at least 197 people died in floods and subsequent landslides this year, and around 719,000 people have been impacted by the flooding.

The government agency in India responsible for implementing the necessary structural changes to avoid climate disasters is the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). However, there have been instances where the administration in question failed to seal a river breach for 25 days after the floods were discovered.

Dileep Mavalankar, director at the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, emphasized the need for a separate department for climate change and health in every municipality, district, and state government. He believes that such a move would help in better preparedness and response to climate-related disasters.

World governments have not taken sufficient action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and some may have been negligent in preparing for and responding to disasters in order to save lives. The urgency for action cannot be overstated, and it is crucial that governments worldwide prioritize climate action to protect their citizens and preserve the planet for future generations.