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India’s Heat Extremes Spread as Northwest Emerges Worst-Hit
Scientists studied more than 50 years of weather records from India.
They combined seven types of climate dangers into one index.
These dangers included heat, humid heat, heatwaves and drought.
The study found that areas affected by extreme temperatures grew across central and northwest India.
Small, separate hot areas in the 1980s became larger connected regions by the 2010s.
Northwest India is heating and drying more strongly than other areas.
Southern and eastern coastal areas often faced drought, while the northeast had both very heavy rain and dry spells.
This means every part of India needs a different plan for dealing with climate risks.
The researchers said the index could help officials monitor problems and plan for health, farming, water and infrastructure.
A study using 52 years of observations found India’s temperature-extreme affected area expanded by 20% to 40% per decade across central and northwest India from 1971 to 2022.
Scattered heat hotspots seen in the 1980s developed into broad, connected heat-stress zones by the 2010s.
Northwest India showed the strongest increases in daytime heat, humid heat and heatwave severity, while southern areas dried fastest.
Northeast India experienced heavier single-day rainfall alongside more frequent dry spells, indicating greater monsoon instability.
Researchers recommended region-specific action, including heat planning in the northwest, drought resilience in the south and flood management in the northeast.
- Who
- Scientists from the India Meteorological Department and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, including M Rajeevan and Thota Mohan.
- What
- They published a revised India Climate Extremes Index showing that heat and other climate extremes are expanding and varying by region.
- Where
- Across the Indian subcontinent, with the strongest temperature-extreme expansion in central and northwest India.
- When
- The study analyzed observations from 1971 to 2022 and was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Climatology.
- Why
- To measure where climate stress is increasing and support region-specific planning for heat, drought, rainfall, health, agriculture, water and infrastructure.
Key facts
- Study period
- 1971–2022
- Data basis
- 52 years of India Meteorological Department observations
- Affected-area trend
- Temperature-extreme affected areas expanded by 20% to 40% per decade across central and northwest India
- Index components
- Seven hazards, including daytime heat, humid heat, heatwave severity and drought
- Most affected region
- Northwest India emerged as the country’s heat epicentre
- Publication
- International Journal of Climatology
- Statistical method
- Mann-Kendall trend testing
Quotes
Thota Mohan
NCMRWF scientist and lead author of the study
“The same warming shows up very differently across the country. The northwest is heating and drying, while the northeast swings between heavy downpours and dry spells. Building the index for Indian conditions lets us see those contrasts clearly rather than average them away.”
theprint.in
“What stands out over five decades is not just that India is warming, but that heat and drought extremes are covering more and more of the country. They have moved from a few pockets to large, connected regions, and that is a different order of risk to plan for.”
theprint.in
Sources
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