HYDERABAD: Over 1,81,419 acres of crop area were affected, 66 people died, and 4,350 animal (big and small) deaths were reported, all due to extreme weather events which spanned over 50 days from January 1 to September 30, revealed ‘India Climate Report 2024’, launched by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and its publication, Down to Earth.
CSE report said there had been a staggering 144% increase in human deaths caused by extreme weather conditions this year compared to 2022. While 27 deaths took place due to extreme weather conditions in 2022, in 2024 the number increased to 66. The extent of crop-affected areas also doubled in 2024. The extent of crop-affected areas in 2022 was 42,000 acres, against 1.81 lakh acres in 2024.
Astonishingly, the current year witnessed more deaths than in 2022, although the number of days of heavy rains, and floods were significantly fewer.
The number of heavy rain and flood days was 21 in 2024 and 31 in 2022. The number of days of occurrence of heatwave also increased to 12, and 13 in 2024. These figures indicate a change in the patterns of change of extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, coldwave, and cloudbursts.
The said report mentioned that the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines extreme weather events as occurrences that are “rare at a particular place and time of year”.
The CSE has sourced data on extreme events from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), and the Disaster Management Division (DMD).