India’s heatwave longest ever, worse to come

Parts of northern India have been gripped by a heatwave since mid-May, with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

“This has been the longest spell because it has been experienced for about 24 days in different parts of the country,” said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, head of India’s Meteorological Department (IMD), in an interview with the Indian Express daily.

The mercury is expected to fall as the annual monsoon rains move north this month, but Mohapatra cautioned that worse conditions will follow. “Heatwaves will be more frequent, durable, and intense if precautionary or preventive measures are not taken,” he said.

India, the world’s third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has committed to achieving a net zero emissions economy by 2070, two decades later than most of the industrialized West. Currently, the country relies heavily on coal for power generation.

“Human activities, increasing population, industrialization, and transport mechanisms are leading to increased concentrations of carbon monoxide, methane, and chlorocarbons,” Mohapatra said. “We are endangering not only ourselves but also our future generations.”

Scientific research indicates that climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent, and more intense. The latest heatwave saw temperatures in New Delhi match the capital’s previous record high of 49.2C (120.5F) set in 2022. As people sought relief from the scorching temperatures, the electricity grid groaned under a record peak power demand of 8,302 megawatts.

On May 29, an automatic weather station in the Delhi suburb of Mungeshpur recorded a high of 52.9C (127.2F), but this temperature was the result of a faulty sensor. Elsewhere in Delhi, 17 other city stations hit a maximum of 49C (120.2F) the same day.

“We constituted an expert committee, which observed readings for the next two days and found there were problems with the sensor,” Mohapatra said. While the IMD had raised its concerns about the recording within hours, Mohapatra confirmed for the first time that the sensor was faulty.

“We inspect the AWS (automatic weather stations) every six months,” he said. “But in between, a bird or a monkey can disturb it.”