India Witnesses Second Hottest Pre-Monsoon Season This Year As Winters Warming Up Quicker: CSE Study

The latest findings released by the Urban Lab of Centre for Science and Environment on July 7 state that the summer or pre-monsoon season this year has overtaken 2016 records as the second hottest pre-monsoon season in the country, whereas winter and post-monsoon seasons are warming up faster.

Parameters Used

The Centre for Science and Environment study analysed the temperature trends using all three dimensions of heat stress- surface air temperature, land surface temperature, and relative humidity (heat index). It was done so that the warming trend could be understood comprehensively, as reported by The Print.

Notable Observations

The study says that Delhi has recorded a significant positive anomaly on all three temperature parameters and that land surface temperatures in the city have been the highest since 2010. It added that the air temperature was 1.77 degrees Celsius hotter than in 2010 and the land surface temperature 1.95 degrees Celsius hotter.

There was a rise in humidity in May, and scattered rain spells were observed; however, March and April were unusually dry, and in June, the daily average heat index crossed 40 degrees Celsius, the findings further added. As reported by Mint, the rise in the humidity led to an increase in the city's heat index.

"The highest land surface temperature was observed on May 16, 2020, when 53.9 degrees Celsius was recorded within city limits, followed by May 14, 2022, with a maximum land surface temperature of 51.8 degrees Celsius. In the previous years, the maximum land surface temperature was observed to be in the mid-40s range," the CSE analysis said.

In May 2022, when the land surface temperature in Delhi shot above 38 degrees Celsius, an unusual trend was observed wherein even the green pockets within the city had heated up to this magnitude, something that hasn't happened before. The findings stated that the average land surface temperature was higher than the daily average air temperature.

"Industrial and agricultural zone recorded the highest increase in land surface temperature between March to May", the study said. The city witnessed a rise in the temperature of water bodies too, which rose to 29-30 degrees Celsius in May and was well below 27 degrees Celsius in March, as reported by the Deccan Herald.

The combined effect of climate change-induced unseasonal heatwaves was the main focus of the city analysis conducted by the CSE. The study is based on a comparative statistical analysis of observed heat-related impact in Indian cities and regions and temperature anomalies.

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