Recent data from the global organization IQAir has presented an extremely alarming picture. Nineteen out of the world’s twenty hottest cities are located in India. It is a serious warning about the country’s environmental future. Although climate change is the primary cause of rising temperatures, the indifference of governments and ordinary citizens towards environmental protection is also at the root of this problem. The continuous shrinking of forest cover and increasing carbon emissions due to changing lifestyles are further fueling the rise in temperature.
This April, there were a few days of coolness, and then within just a few days, a massive heat wave struck. This sudden change of season is extremely dangerous for human health. Many people are falling ill due to this unexpected weather change, which underlines the seriousness of the situation.
According to the meteorological department, when the temperature crosses the 40 degrees Celsius mark, it is called a heat wave, commonly known as “loo.” The fact that many cities across the country had already crossed this limit by the fourth week of April itself is a matter of special concern. States like Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Odisha are bearing the brunt of this heat. The situation has become so dire that school schedules have had to be changed in many states across the country.
In Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, the duty hours of traffic police have been altered. In many places, workers have been prohibited from working during certain hours of the day. Efforts are being made to provide relief to citizens from the heat through water sprinklers on roads, at bus stations, and at railway stations.
There are many reasons behind this intense heat. One reason is the harsh sunlight falling on the ground during the pre-monsoon hot period in April. Less snowfall in the Himalayan region this year is also adding to the heat. The rise in sea surface temperature is intensifying the effect of the heat. Weather systems and winds that used to bring coolness to the atmosphere have weakened and are now contributing to increasing the heat. Dry winds are creating obstacles in the formation of clouds, thereby reducing the possibility of rain. Since there are currently no signs of pre-monsoon showers, there is a possibility that intense heat will have to be endured for the remaining days of this month as well.
All of this is not merely a natural fluctuation in the weather but is a direct consequence of man-made climate change. The Climameter report has analyzed heat waves from 1950 to the present and proven that the current heat wave is four degrees Celsius hotter compared to previous ones. The ERA data of the European meteorological organization Copernicus was used for these findings. The report clearly states that man-made climate change is entirely responsible for this difference, while the role of natural causes is negligible. In the last 80 years, the number of extremely hot days in major cities around the world has tripled. In the 1940s, approximately 15 days of extreme heat were felt annually on global sea surfaces, but now this figure has increased manifold.
The consequences of this growing heat menace on human life are extremely serious. Every year, more than 150,000 people die worldwide due to heat waves. More than one-fifth of these deaths occur in India. After India, China and Russia have the highest proportion of heat-related deaths, with approximately 14 percent of deaths occurring there. A study by ETH Zurich University in Switzerland has warned that if adverse weather conditions continue to worsen in the future, the number of deaths due to heat could increase even further. In the last 20 years, this figure has reached approximately one hundred thousand.
A heat wave has extremely adverse effects on the human body. Various ill effects ranging from dehydration and heat stroke to death can occur. Young children, elderly people above 80 years of age, women, persons suffering from chronic lung diseases, and construction and labor workers are at greater risk from heat waves. It is feared that 80 percent of the country’s total population and 90 percent of its land area may come within the range of the intensity of heat waves. If this challenge is not addressed in time, India will face serious difficulties in achieving its sustainable development goals.
A research paper by Harvard University’s Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability has made it clear that the worst period of heat due to climate change in India is yet to come. According to scientists at Columbia University, if the excess emission of oil and gas by fossil fuel companies continues in the same manner until 2050, heat could reach deadly levels by 2100 and millions of lives could be lost. Every million tonnes of increase in carbon could lead to 226 additional heat wave incidents worldwide. The United Nations Climate Committee has stated that if the Earth’s temperature is to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a 43 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 is necessary. If this does not happen, the Earth’s temperature could rise by four degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
In short, this situation is not merely that of a temporary summer. These are signals of a terrible future trend. The monsoon will provide some relief, but the intensity of heat will keep increasing with time. Therefore, instead of relying only on immediate measures, taking long-term policy steps is the need of the hour. Reducing carbon emissions, increasing forest cover, shifting to renewable energy, and prioritizing green spaces in urban planning are no longer optional they have become mandatory. The fact that nineteen of the world’s hottest cities are in India is a shameful record, and to recover from it, the government, industry, and citizens will all have to work together with awareness and determination, otherwise the coming generations will have to pay a very heavy price for this negligence.
