"This is the latest spike in a rapidly worsening disaster, one that was foretold by climate activists the world over." "While these temperatures are quite literally shocking, they come as no real surprise to communities that have long since lived on the frontlines of the climate crisis," Chowdhary continued. Namrata Chowdhary, chief of public engagement at 350.org, stressed that "the truth behind these heatwaves is searingly clear: fossil fuels did this." "It looks daunting on paper but is even more devastating in reality and we demand immediate climate action." "The IPCC report predicts significant increases in heatwaves globally, but we are the human faces of that science," said Raha. Gurvinder Singh, director of agriculture in the northern state of Punjab, known as "India's breadbasket," told CNN that the April heatwave reduced yields by 500 kilograms per hectare. In addition to putting the lives of millions of farmers at risk, extreme heat is wreaking havoc on wheat fields. Land surface temperatures-a measure of how hot the Earth's surface would feel to the touch in a particular location-exceeded 60✬ or 140✯ in parts of northwest India on Saturday, according to satellite imagery.
"Many in heavily populated areas do not have access to air conditioning, and workers with outdoor jobs are unable to carry out their work in this extreme heat, impacting sources of income." "The heat is unbearable and people are suffering," Raha continued. We are experiencing heatwaves in spring." In a statement released late last week, Shibaya Raha, a senior digital organizer with 350.org South Asia, said that "we cannot deny this climate crisis any longer. "This heatwave is testing the limits of human survivability."
"This is what climate experts predicted and it will have cascading impacts on health," said Singh. Meanwhile, the region's annual monsoon season is still weeks away. "This is the first time in decades that Pakistan is experiencing what many call a 'spring-less year," Pakistan's Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman said in a statement.Īpril's record-shattering temperatures came on the heels of India's hottest March in more than a century and one of its driest.
According to the PMD, this was the highest temperature recorded in any city in the Northern Hemisphere on that day. The heatwave has also been felt by India's neighbor Pakistan, where the cities of Jacobabad and Sibi in the country's southeastern Sindh province recorded highs of 47✬ (116.6✯) on Friday, according to data shared with CNN by Pakistan's Meteorological Department (PMD). In some states, the heat closed schools, damaged crops, and put pressure on energy supplies, as officials warned residents to remain indoors and keep hydrated. Last month, New Delhi saw seven consecutive days over 40✬ (104✯), three degrees above the average temperature for the month of April, according to CNN meteorologists. The average maximum temperature for northwest and central India in April was the highest since records began 122 years ago, reaching 35.9º and 37.78✬ (96.62º and 100✯) respectively, according to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). "We have seen a change in its intensity, its arrival time, and duration." As record-breaking temperatures continue to pummel the Indian subcontinent- endangering the lives of millions of people and scorching crops amid a global food crisis-climate scientists and activists are warning that deadly public health crises of this sort will only grow worse as long as societies keep burning fossil fuels.Īlthough heatwaves are common in India, especially in May and June, overpowering temperatures arrived several weeks earlier than usual this year-a clear manifestation of the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency, according to Clare Nullis, an official at the World Meteorological Organization."This heatwave is definitely unprecedented," Chandni Singh, senior researcher at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and a lead author at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told CNN on Monday.
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