India is currently experiencing a record-breaking heatwave that has lead to more than 1,000 deaths and has even caused some of the country’s roads to melt, Common Dreams reported.
Areas of India have seen temperatures approaching 122°F combined with high levels of humidity. According to Indian officials, most of the heat-related deaths have been construction workers, the elderly, and the homeless. The country’s meteorological department issued a “red box” warning for three states earlier this week, meaning there are elevated chances of heat stroke, dehydration, and death.
Authorities have urged citizens to stay inside whenever possible, and expect an increase in power outages a result of of the added stress on the country’s power grids.
Climate experts say that the increase in temperature is a result of “seasonal weather patterns beset by the El Nino in the Pacific Ocean and the overall impact of increased global temperatures due to human-caused climate change,” CD reported.
“On account of 0.8 degree warming during the past hundred years, one must expect more heat waves even without an El Nino. El Nino will increase the atmospheric temperature and hence add to the problems created by global warming, said chairman of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change, J Srinivasan.
Experts have also predicted that parts of India can expect to see an increase in these heatwaves.
“Generally, [the city of Hyderabad] suffers a maximum of five heatwave days’ in a year … this number will go up to as many as 40 days per year in the future,” the Times of India reported.
Given the sheer number of extreme weather events across the globe — last winter’s blizzards across the US, droughts affecting the American Southwest, melting of Arctic ice sheets, and now 122°F temperatures in India, it’s hard to believe that there are actually people who deny that climate change exists.
What more has to happen before real action is taken to combat global warming and its effects?
