The Rhododendron , Uttarakhand’s state tree, bloomed in first week of February in most parts of north-western Himalayas, at least a month before it usually does. Plum and green-almond trees in are full bloom in hills of Himachal Pradesh, again, a month before they do. And winter national games in ski resort of Auli in Uttarakhand were cancelled on Friday due to inadequate snow.
These are just a few examples of the implications of warmer than usual weather in north and western India, where the temperatures have touched almost 40 degree Celsius. Experts say the warmer February is a clear indication of global warming . “We saw one of the coldest Januarys in recent years and now February is so warm,” said K G Ramesh, former director of the India Meteorological Department.
On Thursday, Bhuj in Gujarat recorded 40.3 degree Celsius , breaking its previous all-time record (for the month) of 39.0°c on 19th February, 2017. It is also the earliest a temperature in excess of 40 degree Celsius has been recorded in the month in India. The reading was 10 degrees Celsius about normal, which as per the definition of IMD, indicates a heat wave.
IMD declares heat wave when maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40 degree Celsius or more for plains and at least 30 degree Celsius or more for hilly regions and there is departure from normal between 4.5 and 6.4 degree Celsius. Extreme heat wave is a departure of more than 6.4 degree Celsius.
Similar high temperatures were recorded in several parts of western India with Barmer in Rajasthan recording 38 degree Celsius on Friday, about five degrees more than normal for this time of the year. Jalore and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan also recorded higher than normal temperatures. Gujarat cities such as Rajkot, Deesa and Sundernagar also recorded above 38 degree C temperatures. Thane and Panvel in Maharashtra recorded the highest maximum temperatures (39 degree Celsius) in the state. Mumbai recorded the season’s highest at 38.6 degree C.
In Uttarakhand, where tourism minister Satpal Maharaj announced cancellation of the national junior skiing competition and winter games because of inadequate snow, IMD said maximum temperatures were “appreciably above normal in plains” and markedly “above normal in hills.” The highest maximum temperature in the state, 27.5°C was recorded in Roorkee and capital Dehradun itself reported 27.4 degree Celsius , 5 degrees Celsius above normal. Mussoorie reported maximum temperature of 20.6 degree Celsius, which was 9 degree Celsius above normal.
Shimla, a hill station in Himachal recorded maximum temperature of 21.7 degree C.
JC Kuniyal, a scientist at GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development in Almora, said, “Early blooming of rhododendron and other trees is indicative of warmer hills this time and is primarily happening due to climate change, especially due to the average increase in the mean temperature annually”.
According to IMD, Panaji recorded a temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius on February 16, the second highest ever for the month . The highest for February was 39.2 degrees Celsius recorded in February 2009.
IMD officials said warmer than normal temperatures are a result of the absence of a western disturbance and the prevalence of anti-cyclonic circulation in middle and lower atmospheric level over northern Arabia Sea. Radhey Shyam Sharma, the director of Rajasthan’s weather office said because of this, temperatures that are, on average 5-10 degrees C higher than normal are being recorded in the state. “Similar condition will continue for the next 3-4 days. From February 21 this cyclonic system will weaken and a decline in 3-4 degree Celsius may be witnessed,” he added.
Eastern India seems to have escaped the heat — at least thus far.
Valmikinagar in Bihar’s West Champaran district was the hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 29.1°C on Friday.The average maximum temperature stood 23°C to 25°C and there is no significant deviation from the normal temperature, said officials of Patna Meteorological Centre. The highest temperature in West Bengal ranged between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius, said an official of IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre in Kolkata.
IMD said that temperatures are higher than normal in some parts of the southern India also.
Navdeep Dahiya, an independent climate researcher, said warmer temperatures have been recorded across India, especially western and northern parts. “Normally anti-cyclones circulations form over western India in mid-April. In 2022, we saw similar climate conditions in March , resulting in 40 degrees C-plus temperatures in several places. This year, the first instance of anti-cyclone circulation was observed over India in early February and the phenomenon has strengthened further in mid February. This is the strongest and earliest high pressure development over the subcontinent ever.”
According to him, most climate models don’t predict any “significant” relief till the end of February.
(With inputs from state bureaus)
