2016 was one of the hottest years on record. But 2017 comes with its own few surprises.
The predictions are already in. A full two months ahead of the traditional peaking of summer, the Indian Meteorological Department has issued a circular which states that temperatures across the country will be “above normal” this year, making 2016 — the warmest recorded in over 100 years — seem like a mild weekend at the spa.
And the resulting heat waves, from this rise in temperatures could bring in much misery. In 2015, similar conditions had claimed around 2,800 lives in Uttar Pradesh.
For 2017, the heat alert spans most of the country. The IMD estimates that states such Punjab, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and the Met sub-divisions of Marathwada, Vidarbha, Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh will experience torturous weather — numbers that have never been seen in a while.
This is global warming on full attack. “The condition has been forming for years but greenhouse gases and global warming have made the situation even worse,” says A.K. Sahai, the head of Climate Research and Services at the IMD, Pune.
Another troubling weather phenomenon is not far behind. EL-Nino might occur by September this year. It is a weather condition which develops due to excessive warming of the Pacific Ocean and this disrupts the build-up of the monsoon. The Met has claimed monsoon will be normal this year but the notorious El-Nino had affected the country in 2015 and severe droughts were widespread. But this time, the phenomenon is expected to come into effect only by September when the summer monsoon is in withdrawal.
Mahesh Palawat, the chief meteorologist of Skymet —India’s largest weather monitoring company says: “Summers are going to be hotter this year. And that’s because of a poor winter and less hailstorm activity in the north, central and east of India. This decreased activity in the western Himalayas and decreased rains along the northern plains have lead to a dip in humidity and moisture which then reduces formation of fog —making this year’s winter warmer.”
Snow in the sahara and melting ice caps