Climate Change making heatwave in India more intense

INDIA: Climate change made the extreme temperatures that baked north-west India and Pakistan in April and May over 100 times more likely and also increased the chances that such heat waves will occur more frequently by the end of the century.

Without accounting for climate change, a heat wave exceeding the 2010’s average temperature could happen once in every 312 years, according to an attribution study by the UK’s Met Office published on Wednesday. Taking climate change into account, the probabilities increase to once in every 3.1 years in the current climate, and to once in every 1.15 years by the end of the century. Scientists will have to wait until the end of the month, when all records for April and May have been collated, to see whether this year’s heatwave exceeds the levels experienced in 2010.

In recent days, temperatures in some parts of India have exceeded 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), while some parts of Pakistan reached 51 degrees Celsius last Sunday. The extreme pre-monsoon heatwave has eased for now, but maximum temperatures are likely to reach 50 degrees Celsius again in some places, said Paul Hutcheon of the Met Office’s Global Guidance Unit. – NDTV