Published in:
The Indian government has just presented the upsetting results of the scorching summer that has just ended. This is the hottest and most extreme on record with a record number of hot days. The country is supposed to be one of the hardest hit by global warming, but is struggling to prepare to protect the poorest from its effects.
From our correspondent in New Delhi,
India has recorded 203 days of extreme temperatures, the largest in its history. That figure is five times higher than 2021. Heatwave days are declared when lowland temperatures exceed 45 degrees for at least two consecutive days. The government achieves this figure by summing the different days of extremes experienced in about twenty different regions, so that there may be multiple instances of a heatwave on the same day. The northern part of the country was clearly the most affected, and in particular Rajasthan or Punjab, on the border with Pakistanwith about 25 days of extreme temperatures in four months, six times more than in 2021.
This is part of a clear warming trend. For 50 years, each decade has been hotter and more extreme than the previous. Between 2010 and 2020, India recorded twice as many hot days over the last ten years. And this year, mercury has risen to 49 degrees in New Delhi, never seen. Unfortunately this follows the projection from the UN group of IPCC on climate, which warns that the Indian subcontinent will be one of the areas hardest hit by climate change.
Uncontrolled urbanization creates heat islands
In the extreme case of 2°C global warming, it may be impossible to work outdoors for more than half a year in most countries. To respond to the emergency, the government has created a national health action plan, but it has been slow to implement on the ground.
In terms of adaptation, the task is difficult: authorities must manage rapid urban migration. It does this by rapidly building concrete towers, which lock in heat and are therefore equipped with air conditioning – but these machines then turn down the heat in the city. The poorest migrants live in slums, in poorly ventilated residences and are the first victims of this heat wave.
Also listen: Big Report – Heatwave in India: survival of the poorest communities threatened by global warming
