WMO chief: Climate Change Alone Is Not Responsible For South Asia’s Heat Wave

In spite of what climate change specialists have come to expect in a warming environment, the director of an international meteorological agency has indicated that it is premature to link the current heatwave sweeping through India and Pakistan only to climate change.

Prof. Petteri Taalas, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General remarked on Tuesday that heatwaves are becoming more common, stronger, and earlier in the year.

“Heatwaves have complex and cascading implications not just on human health, but also on ecosystems, agriculture and water and energy sources, and vital sectors of the economy,” a WMO official stated. The dangers to society demonstrate why the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is dedicated to making multi-hazard early warning systems available to the most vulnerable.

Hundreds of millions of people in one of the world’s most densely populated regions have been affected once again by extreme heat that has grabbed vast areas of India and Pakistan. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a news statement on Tuesday that both nations’ national meteorological and hydrological departments are working closely with health and disaster management authorities in order to save lives.

South Asia will see more intense and frequent heat waves this century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report.

Pre-monsoon temperatures in India and Pakistan are frequently high, particularly around May. April can see some heatwaves, although they are rare.

“It is too early to tell if we’ll see new national high temperatures.”

On May 28, 2017, Pakistan’s Turbat recorded a temperature of 53.7 degrees Celsius, which is the fourth-highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

In Pakistan’s worst-hit districts, the mercury rose as high as 50 degrees Celsius. Overall, Pakistan’s daytime temperatures are expected to be 5 to 8 degrees Celsius above average, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. The hot, dry weather was a threat to water resources, agriculture, and human and animal health, according to the weather report.

The exceptional heat might unleash glacial lake outburst floods or flash floods in sensitive locations, as well as rising river levels, in the mountainous regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Even in metropolitan areas, India and Pakistan have developed effective heat-health early warning systems and programmes. As a result, heat-related deaths are reduced as well as the social and economic consequences of high heat, such as reduced productivity at work. To help the hard-hit region, the WMO-sponsored Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) has shared important lessons gained from the past with all of its partners.