NEW DELHI: India has experienced its hottest and driest August since national records began over a century ago, adding to the growing list of global records shattered by the intensifying effects of climate change.
August typically falls within India’s annual monsoon season, accounting for up to 80 percent of the country’s annual precipitation. While heavy rains led to deadly floods in northern India during the month, overall rainfall remained notably subdued, resulting in record-breaking heat.
“The average mean and maximum temperatures in August 2023 were the highest on record since 1901,” reported the India Meteorological Department (IMD), attributing this phenomenon to significant rainfall deficits and weakened monsoon patterns.
IMD data revealed that the August average rainfall for this year measured 161.7 millimeters (6.4 inches), a significant 30.1mm lower than the previous record set in August 2005, according to AFP.
Millions of farmers rely on monsoons for crop success, so the summer rains are crucial for India’s food security and the livelihoods of its rural workforce. The monsoon season is driven by the subcontinent’s summer heat, which warms the landmass and causes rising air to draw in calmer Indian Ocean winds, resulting in substantial rainfall.
However, the monsoon also brings yearly destruction through landslides and floods. The situation is exacerbated by melting glaciers, which increase the water volume, and unregulated construction in flood-prone areas.
Despite the record-low rainfall, August witnessed at least 65 fatalities due to floods and landslides triggered by heavy downpours in India’s Himalayan region.
Heatwaves in India
Over the past decade, India’s meteorological department has declared a heatwave almost annually, with temperatures occasionally soaring to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).
This trend of breaking temperature records is not unique to India. Worldwide, temperature records have tumbled in recent years as climate change leads to more volatile meteorological conditions. July 2023, marked by heatwaves and wildfires across the globe, was declared the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, according to the European Union’s climate observatory, Copernicus.
The emission of greenhouse gases continues to fuel increasingly intense and prolonged heat waves, further underscoring the urgent need for climate action.
