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02-05-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The summer conditions south Asian countries dread each year have arrived alarmingly early, and it’s only April. Much of India and Pakistan is already sweltering in heatwave conditions, in what scientists say is fast becoming the “new normal”.
Temperatures in the region typically climb through May, peaking in June before the monsoon brings relief but this year, the heat has come early. “As far as Asia and the Indian subcontinent are concerned, there was a quick transition from a short window of spring conditions to summer-like heat,” said GP Sharma, the meteorology president of Skymet, India’s leading private forecaster.
South Asia, home to 1.9 billion people, is particularly vulnerable. Many live in areas highly exposed to extreme heat and lack access to basic cooling, healthcare or water.
In Delhi, where spring usually offers a short spell of mild temperatures, thermometers have risen past 40C in April “up to 5C above the seasonal average” according to a report by ClimaMeter, a platform that tracks extreme weather events.
“Human-driven climate change” is to blame for the “dangerous” kind of heat seen in recent weeks, it said.
“These spring heatwaves are not anomalies. They’re signals. We need to move beyond awareness into action,” said Gianmarco Mengaldo, a climate expert at the National University of Singapore and co-author of the report.
Delhi authorities urged schools to cancel afternoon assemblies on Tuesday and issued emergency guidelines to ensure water breaks and stocks of oral rehydration salts in first aid kits, and to treat any signs of heat stress immediately.
Temperatures in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, hit 44C, triggering heatstroke reports among construction workers and farmers. Other states are also grappling with intense heat.
The Indian Meteorological Department has reported an “above-normal number of heatwave days”. Temperatures are expected to climb steadily across the subcontinent, with the highest readings forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.
Pakistan is also reeling. In the city of Shaheed Benazirabad in Sindh province, the mercury has soared to 50C nearly 8.5C above the April average. In other parts of the country, temperatures have hovered in the high 40s.
“What was once considered rare has become alarmingly common, as climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of such events,” said an editorial in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn. The country “remains woefully unprepared for the escalating climate crisis”, it said.
Urban heat is making things worse. Data comparing 1950–1986 with 1987–2023 shows that cities such as Delhi and Islamabad are now up to 3C hotter on average than nearby rural areas.
“When it comes to heatwaves, the question is no longer if they are linked to climate change, but what kind of thresholds we are reaching,” said Mengaldo. “Preparedness is essential but right now, our infrastructure is not well adapted.”
Natural climate variability such as the El Nino cycle can affect regional weather, but it is now in a neutral phase.
ClimaMeter said; “compared to pre-1986 levels, similar meteorological conditions now produce temperatures up to 4C higher almost entirely due to human-driven climate change.”
South Asia is not alone. “In the northern hemisphere spring months, we are already seeing conditions in parts of the Middle East that are incompatible with human life,” said Mengaldo.
