An account of 15 cities in India have experienced a recorded heat wave for at least five days in 2023 reported in a new study.
The latest study was led by an independent group of scientists, Climate Central, who had warned that the last 12 months had been the “hottest ever recorded” between November 2022 to 0ctober 2023 in 1,25,000 years.
This study result was based on analyzing heat waves and temperature of 920 major cities in 175 countries across the world. The analysis saw an increase of 1.3 degrees Celcius in warming since the pre-industrial era.
The study said, “El Nino is just beginning to boost the temperatures, but based on historical patterns, most of the effect will be felt next year. Rapidly reducing carbon pollution every year is required to halt the warming trend.”
In Asia as per the report noted 32 out of 47 countries were affected by rise in temperatures. In the African continent 44 out of 52 countries saw rushing heat with Rwanda being the worst affected country. In Europe, four out of 38 countries were affected.
In North and Central America 14 out of 17 countries were affected and in South America 8 out of 13. Oceania saw 6 countries out of 8 being affected by rising heat.
Using a peer-reviewed scientific methodology the study took local influence on climate change and quantified it and compared it with daily temperatures globally. The result estimated human-induced shifts in climate temperature that local people experience daily and graded higher temperatures using different levels of climate change shift index (CSI).
In India 70 cities were analyzed using the methodology which showed 12 cities higher than normal temperature. Some of the 12 cities including Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Guwahati, and Thane had more than 100 days of higher temperature. 21 cities in India had more than 100 days of increased heal levels than normal.
This led to classification of CSI level 3. Vice president for science at Climate Central, Dr Andrew Pershing said, “This 12-month record is exactly what we expect from a global climate fueled by carbon pollution. Records will continue to fall next year, especially as the growing El Niño begins to take hold, exposing billions to unusual heat. While climate impacts are most acute in developing countries near the equator, seeing climate-fueled streaks of extreme heat in the US, India, Japan, and Europe underscores that no one is safe from climate change.”