India Records World’s Highest Exposure to Climate-Driven Risky Heat, Study Finds

New Delhi: A sobering new report has highlighted the profound impact of global warming on India, revealing that the nation bore the brunt of climate-induced extreme temperatures between June and August this year. According to the latest analysis by Climate Central, an independent group of scientists, approximately 117 million people in India were exposed to at least 30 days of “risky heat” directly exacerbated by climate change.

The findings underscore a growing public health crisis as rising temperatures push mercury levels into danger zones more frequently than ever before.

Defining the Danger Zone

The study defines “risky heat days” as instances where local temperatures exceed the 90th percentile of what was historically observed in a specific region between 1991 and 2020. This threshold is critical, as it marks the point at which medical experts observe a sharp rise in heat-related illnesses and physiological stress.

Data from the analysis indicates that India’s average temperature during the June-August window was 0.7 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 baseline. On average, an Indian resident endured nearly 39 days this past summer where temperatures were significantly intensified by anthropogenic climate change.

Regional Hotspots and Urban Impact

The geographic distribution of this heat stress reveals a widespread crisis affecting both mountainous regions and coastal cities. Srinagar, often considered a cool retreat, topped the list with 53 days of risky heat, highlighting how climate anomalies are disrupting traditional weather patterns in higher altitudes. Chennai followed closely with 40 days, while Rajkot and Amritsar each recorded 29 days, and Lucknow saw 27 days of extreme heat.

Coastal metropolises also faced severe challenges. Mumbai, despite its maritime climate, saw the highest frequency of heat influenced by climate change, recording a staggering 86 days where temperatures were pushed upward by global warming trends.

A Continental Crisis

The situation in India is part of a larger, alarming trend across the Asian continent. Asia emerged as the most affected region globally, with roughly 2.8 billion people—or 58 percent of the continent’s total population—exposed to at least 30 days of risky heat during the summer months.

Globally, the scale of the crisis is immense, with more than 1.5 billion people worldwide facing 30 or more days of intense, climate-added heat. The report serves as a stark reminder of the accelerating pace of global warming and its direct correlation to the daily lived experiences of millions of people.

As temperatures continue to climb, experts warn that these figures will likely worsen in the coming years without aggressive climate mitigation strategies. For India, the data reinforces the urgent need for robust heat-action plans, improved urban planning to counter the “heat island” effect, and enhanced public health infrastructure to protect the most vulnerable populations from an increasingly scorching future.

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