Madhya Pradesh

• 03 Jan 2024

Extreme Weather and Human Casualty

Why in News?

As per the preliminary reports of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of casualties due to extreme weather events in 2023.

Key Points

• Witnessing over 2,376 casualties due to extreme weather events, the year 2023 was the warmest on record since 1901 as per the IMD.
• The annual mean land surface air temperature averaging over India during 2023 was 0.65 degree Celsius above the long-term average (1981-2010 period), making it the second warmest year on record since 1901.
• Globally, the year 2023 was the "warmest year on record" with the global mean temperature around 1.40 (± 0.12) degree Celsius above the pre-industrial level (1850 - 1900 average) till October.
  • Final figures will be released later by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) considering the global average temperatures of November and December.
• The significant rise in global temperatures, as well as in India, could be attributed to El-Nino conditions (warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that impacts monsoon negatively).
  • The WMO has already identified that the warming El Nino event is likely to "contribute to the heat in 2024".
• Thunderstorms and lightning, put together, were the biggest killers in the country followed by floods and heavy rain.