"Even the Birds in the Sky Fall Due to the Heat"... India on Alert Amid 50-Degree Heatwave

100-Fold Increase in the Likelihood of Heatwave Occurrence

India is experiencing a record-breaking heatwave this year.
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] India is experiencing a record-breaking heatwave with maximum temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius, and foreign media reported that the likelihood of heatwaves has increased about 100 times compared to 12 years ago due to the impact of climate change.

According to recent major foreign media, "an analysis by climate scientists and the UK Met Office showed that the natural occurrence probability of heatwaves exceeding average temperatures was once every 312 years in 2010, but due to climate change, the frequency has sharply narrowed to once every 3.1 years," the report stated.

Currently, India's weather seems poised to break the 2010 heatwave records. On the 15th and 16th, temperatures in the northern metropolis of Delhi reached 49 degrees Celsius for consecutive days. The previous highest temperature was 45.6 degrees Celsius, recorded on April 29, 1941.

According to the Indian government, the average maximum temperature in March was 33.1 degrees Celsius, the highest in 121 years since weather observations began in 1901. The average maximum temperature in April was 35.30 degrees Celsius, almost similar to 35.42 degrees in 2010 and 35.32 degrees in 2016. However, this month's temperatures have already far exceeded the normal average.

Indian residents tried to cool down by covering their heads with wet cloths or spraying water on their bodies, but it was insufficient. Schools and shops closed, and power outages occurred frequently due to a surge in energy use for air conditioning.

Additionally, it is known that the recent complete halt of wheat exports by India was due to reduced wheat production caused by the heatwave.

Nikos Christidis, senior researcher at the UK Met Office, diagnosed, "Pre-monsoon heat in northwest India is a common phenomenon, but climate change has intensified the heatwave."

Meanwhile, the heatwave lasting for three months has even caused birds flying in the sky to fall. According to the UK Independent, in Gujarat state in western India, dozens of pigeons and kites suffering from dehydration and exhaustion are being rescued daily as they collapse on the ground and die.

The animal hospital run by a local nonprofit charity has treated thousands of birds in recent weeks. Veterinarians are reported to be carefully caring for them by feeding water through syringes into their beaks and administering multivitamins.