Indian met service warns of ‘severe heatwave’ as scientists say the climate-related risk has tripled

By the Climate Centre

The India Meteorological Department today warned of maximum temperatures as high as 45°C in parts of the centre of the country and the north-western states of Gujrat, Rajasthan and Haryana; 40°C was expected in other areas.

The highest maximum temperature yesterday Friday was recorded at 45.6°C at Amravati city in Maharashtra state, the IMD added in a press release warning of “heatwave to severe heatwave conditions”.

Climate change has approximately tripled the likelihood of baking hot temperatures impacting hundreds of millions across much of South Asia during the pre-monsoon season, World Weather Attribution scientists said Thursday.

India and Pakistan saw extremely high temperatures starting in late April, with daily maximums reaching 46°C in several cities, with “record-breaking power demands across the region as cooling needs surged, while drought [threatened] the livelihood and food security of millions who rely on agriculture.”

‘Notified disaster’?

Such heat is “no longer exceptional in today’s climate,” the scientists said in a new WWA study; in just the last decade similar events have become more than 30 per cent more likely and an estimated 0.3°C hotter.

Heatwaves expose deep social inequalities, meanwhile, with outdoor workers and those in uncooled housing most vulnerable.

Roop Singh, Head of Urban and Attribution at the Climate Centre, said Thursday: “While India and Pakistan have invested in heat action plans, this event shows that extreme heat continues to disproportionately impact outdoor workers and people living in informal housing who are most exposed and vulnerable. 

“Expanding social protection and including heatwaves as ‘notified disasters’ could facilitate relief funding to enhance a comprehensive response.” 

Photo: In Maharashtra, villagers in drought-stricken Latur rush to collect water as a tanker arrives, reflecting the intense pressure drought places on daily life. (File photo: Kishore Das/GHHIN-EJN Extreme Heat Photo Contest 2025)