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A series of record-breaking temperatures impacted India in 2024 with an unprecedented rise of 0.83℃ in mean temperatures from October to December
The IMD said July and September were the second-warmest in 123 years, while October became the hottest on record and November was the third-warmest since 1901. (Image: PTI/File)
India endured its warmest year on record in 2024, the MeT said. It surpassed 2016 as the hottest-ever since 1901 with an annual mean temperature rise of 0.65℃ over its long-term average – higher than 0.54℃ recorded in 2016.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which defines its long-term average from 1991 to 2020, said the year has had a series of record-breaking temperatures all through with an unprecedented rise of 0.83℃ in mean temperatures from October to December. July and September were the second-warmest in 123 years, while October became the hottest on record and November was the third-warmest since 1901, it said.
The impacts of climate change intensified, as warming caused an increase in intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Deadly heat waves scorched large parts of India from April to June, upending lives and livelihoods. The searing heatwave conditions swept Odisha and West Bengal consecutively for more than 15 days in April leading to a rise in hospitalisations.
“We are clearly seeing a trend of increase in minimum temperatures over India due to climate change. In fact, the maximum warming is occurring in the post-monsoon season and the winter season. The winter season is becoming warmer than usual,” said IMD chief Dr M Mohapatra on Wednesday.
The year 2024 also began under the impact of El Nino, a global ocean phenomenon associated with warmer-than-usual temperatures over the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It transitioned to neutral conditions during the monsoon, but the emergence of its cooler counterpart – La Nina – was unusually delayed.
Global forecasters expected La Nina to emerge in August-September, but the sea-surface temperatures remained above-normal till December. “We are now expecting a weak and short-term La Nina this time, and it is most likely to switch to neutral conditions after March. So, we may not see its conventional impacts on the weather this time,” Mohapatra said. La Nina is associated with an intense winter and a relatively cooler atmosphere.
India has recorded five of its warmest years in the last 15 years – 2024, 2016, 2009, 2010 and 2017. The year gone by is also likely to be the hottest on record globallyas per the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) though an official assessment is awaited.
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The top 10 hottest years have happened in the last decade, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had said in his last address, as 2024 came to a close. Additionally, a new report by an international group of experts under the World Weather Attribution and Climate Central said climate change had intensified 26 out of the 29 weather events and resulted in as many as 3,700 deaths and displaced millions.
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