Recently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) released its State of the Climate Report. The Report majorly looks at temperature and rainfall trends annually.
Average temperature over India during the year 2019 was above normal. It was the eighth warmest since India started keeping records in 1901.
IMD was established in 1875. It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is also the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology.
Key findings :-
Temperature
- During 2019, the annual average temperature in the country was 0.29 degree Celsius (°C) above normal (29-year average from 1981-2010).
- However, it was much lower than 2016 (+0.71 degrees Celsius), which remains the warmest ever year the country has recorded since 1901.
- Such temperature trends were reported despite the cooling effect of La Nina, a global weather pattern that prevailed in 2020 and is linked to substantially below normal temperatures in winter.
- La Nina typically has a cooling effect on global temperatures, but this is now offset by global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions.
- As a result, La Nina years now are warmer than years with El Niño events of the past.
- El Nino and La Nina are the extreme phases of the El Niño and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
- ENSO is a periodic fluctuation in sea surface temperature and the air pressure of the overlying atmosphere across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It has a major influence on weather and climate patterns such as heavy rains, floods and drought.
- El Niño has a warming influence on global temperatures, whilst La Nina has the opposite effect.
- The country averaged seasonal mean temperatures were also above the average during all the four seasons with the monsoon season (Jun-Sep, with anomaly +0.580C) being the warmest since 1901.
- The eight warmest years on record in order were: 2016 (+ 0.71 degree C) > 2009 (+0.55 degree C) > 2017 (+0.541 degree C)> 2010 (+0.539 degrees C) > 2015 (+0.42 degree C)> 2018 (+0.41 degree C)> 2019 (+0.36 degree C)> 2020 (+0.29 degree C).
- The past decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record.
Rainfall
- The annual rainfall over the country was 109% of long period average.
- The 2019 northeast monsoon season (October-December) rainfall over the country as a whole was above normal (129% of LPA).
- The seasonal rainfall during the northeast monsoon season over the core region of the south peninsula (comprising of 5 subdivisions viz. Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, South Interior Karnataka and Kerala), was normal (109% of LPA). All the five subdivisions of the core region received excess/normal rainfall.
High Impact Weather Events
- During 2019, eight cyclonic storms formed over the north Indian Ocean.
- Extremely heavy rain, floods, cold waves and thunderstorms led to significant loss of lives and properties.
- According to the report “Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events” released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), over 75% of districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events.
- Uttar Pradesh and Bihar reported the highest casualties due to cold waves, lightning and thunder last year.
- The year 2019 also witnessed development of more intense cyclones over the Arabian Sea.
- Bihar was the most adversely affected state during the year which reported about 650 lives due to Heavy rain & floods, heat wave, lightning, thunderstorm and hailstorm.
- Heavy rain & flood related incidents reportedly claimed over 850 lives from different parts of the country.
- Lightning & Thunderstorm reportedly claimed over 380 lives from central, northeastern, north-western and peninsular parts of the country.
- Snowfall and avalanche related incidents claimed 33 lives from Jammu & Kashmir & 18 from Leh. Cold wave claimed 28 lives from different parts of Uttar Pradesh during last week of December.
