One of the first indicators of the climate crisis is rising temperatures. In South Asia, the heating has already arrived, and it is exposing billions to deadly wet-bulb temperatures, particularly in the river valleys of India. This planet region has already reached the upper limits of labor productivity and human survivability. Unlike us residing in temperate areas, South Asians are acclimated to hot and humid conditions. Since the heavily populated South Asia is already being exposed to deadly temperatures, any additional fraction of heating will be a humanitarian disaster.
For days at a time in early April, people and animals across large swathes of India and Pakistan lay gasping in whatever shade they could find as the temperature exceeded 43 degrees Celsius and dry wind from the desert seared the plains of Indus and Ganga river basins. As Delhi recorded a maximum of 42.6C on 11 April, 7C above average for this day of the year, there was just one topic of conversation when people ventured out after dusk: nobody could remember such an early heatwave. Few could remember 40-plus days before May or June when such temperatures would be expected.
Meanwhile, across Central Asia, people used to far cooler weather suffered as the thermometer reached the 30s.
The early heatwave was particularly grueling for those fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan – when the faithful do not even drink water between sunrise and sunset – and the Hindu holy period Navratra. Residents of urban slums fared the worst under tin or asbestos roofs.
Weather forecasts promised little relief, just more warnings of heatwaves across Punjab, Sindh, and Rajasthan on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, then eastwards across Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and beyond. A few rain-bearing clouds blowing from the Caspian Sea evaporated by the time they reached the Himalayan foothills.
Temperatures will increase in parts of the region over the next couple of days. Crops will be adversely affected.
The Karachi megalopolis has been without the typical cooling breezes that moderate the heat somewhat. Pakistan is one of the largest water deficit nations on earth. The country could run out of water by 2025.
The maximum temperatures were above normal by 3-5 degree Celsius in many parts over Jammu, Punjab, West Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand; in some parts over east Uttar Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal and in isolated pockets over Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, east Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch.
Maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2-3 degrees over northwest India in the next three days and fall by 2-3 degree after that. Heatwave conditions are also likely over Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha till April 20.
There is a 90% rainfall deficiency over northwest India during the pre-monsoon season so far which started on March 1. East Uttar Pradesh has received no rain during the period while west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi subdivisions recorded 99% rain deficiency. Himachal Pradesh recorded 94% rain deficiency; Jammu and Kashmir 90%; West Rajasthan 81% and east Rajasthan recorded 44% rain deficiency.
The March heatwave.
The video does a good job of explaining this heatwave.