NEW DELHI: A new report reveals that India has the second hottest monsoon season in the past five decades. Moreover, nearly one third of the total population experienced at least a week of potentially risky temperatures which might be detrimental to their health.
According to a report, between June and August 2024, India was the second-hottest season since at least 1970. During 29 days in these three months, temperatures were at least three times more likely because of climate change.
The report prepared by Climate Central, a US-based non-profit research organization on the impacts of climate change, reveals Indian subcontinent people were exposed to at least 60 days to extreme temperatures.
Over 20.5 million people experienced these temperatures exceptionally influenced by climate change for at least 60 days in the past three months.
Further, over 426 million people out of the total population of 1.38 billion people experienced at least 7 days of potentially risky temperatures – temperatures that were hotter than 90% of temperatures observed in a local area over the 1991-2020 period. Over 112 million people experienced at least a month’s worth of these potentially health-threatening temperatures.
“Such temperatures are a conservative approximation of the local minimum mortality temperature, an indicator of the local links between temperature and mortality,” said Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at Climate Central.
25 per cent increase in temperatures globally during June, July and August 2024
The report further analysed that 25% of the global population experienced climate change-driven temperatures every day in June, July, and August because of the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, and coal, and human activities.
Between June and August, around 2 billion people were exposed to more than 30 days of health-threatening temperatures strongly influenced by climate change.
180 cities of 72 countries in the Northern Hemisphere experienced at least one extreme heatwave and also hottest summer since at least 1970, significantly driven by climate change.
These heatwaves are, on average, 21 times more likely today because of carbon pollution, mainly caused by burning coal, oil and gas.
“High temperatures that were clearly influenced by climate change jeopardized the health of billions around the world during the past three months,” said. “No region, country, or city is safe from the deadly threats posed by burning fossil fuels.