India issues heatwave warnings as fear of El Nino looms

NEW DELHI: India’s weather agency warned on Wednesday of the risk of upcoming “extreme” heat made worse by the potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern, issuing heatwave preparedness guidelines as temperatures soared.

“Heat waves in India are becoming longer, stronger, and more frequent,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Wednesday, warning of current “heat wave to severe heat wave conditions” across northwest and central India.

“Take preventive measures by staying hydrated and keeping cool,” it said, issuing guidance posters on social media detailing the health risks.

The United Nations’ weather and climate agency last month warned that El Nino conditions could develop as soon as May to July.

The IMD did not say the current high temperatures were linked to El Nino, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns.

But the department highlighted research from previous events, including a 2022 paper on how El Nino patterns in the past had influenced “extreme temperature events across India and intensifies heat wave conditions”.

It detailed past measurements that showed a “higher heat wave frequency during El Nino”, as well as “increased temperature anomalies” across northwest and central India, as well as “longer heat wave duration and wider spatial spread”.

The last El Nino helped make 2023 and 2024 the two hottest years on record.

India routinely experiences intense heatwaves between April and June.

The IMD said the highest maximum temperature recorded on Tuesday was 48.2C in the city of Banda in Uttar Pradesh state, 450 kilometres (289 miles) southeast of New Delhi. Temperatures in the capital were 44.4C.

The country’s highest officially recorded temperature is 51C, measured at Phalodi in Rajasthan in 2016.

Scientists say climate change is also making such extreme weather events more frequent and severe.

Last month, international air-quality monitoring platform AQI said its daily heat index — made of six measurements including temperature, solar intensity, wind, precipitation and humidity — recorded that every single one of the world’s top 50 hottest cities was in India.

“Across all 50 cities, the average peak temperature on April 27 was 44.7C. The coolest maximum on the entire list — Solapur at 41.9C — would be considered a public health emergency anywhere in Europe,” it said.