Lightning has killed 1300 people in India in 2024, with one particular lightning event on July 10 claiming 72 lives in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand, according to the World Meteorological Organisation`s (WMO) `State of the Climate in Asia Report 2024`. The report also revealed that 450 deaths were reported in India in 2024 due to intense heatwaves.
The report was released in Geneva by WMO as a Climate Statement on Monday morning, highlighting changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperatures, glacier mass and sea level, fueling extreme events with major consequences for societies, communities, economies and ecosystems. It is based on inputs from the National Hydrological and Meteorological Services which are the national institutions responsible for delivering essential weather, climate, and water-related services, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The report has ranked 2024 as the warmest year on record with the continent`s average temperature about 1.04° C above the average temperatures between 1991 to 2020. Asia has warmed twice as fast in the past 33 years (1991 – 2024) compared to the 29-year period before that (1961 – 1990) with prolonged heatwaves.
The continent has also reported the worst on-record marine heatwaves, and highest on-record sea surface temperatures, which lead to coral bleaching, harmful algal blooms, and flooding and heatwaves on land. The sea surface temperature for the Indian Ocean is much higher than the global average. Rapid rates of ocean warming have been reported in the northern Arabian Sea bordering the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa and average sea surface temperatures increased at a rate of 0.24°C per decade.
Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat have caused 23 out of 24 glaciers in the Himalayas and Tian Shan to melt, leading to an increase in hazards like glacial lake outburst floods and landslides, and threatening long-term water security.
Key highlights for India in the:
1) Major landslides in the Wayanad district of Kerala killed more than 350 people on 30 July, following over 500 mm of rainfall in 48 hours.
2) Parts of India experienced intense heatwaves in 2024, leading to more than 450 deaths.
3) Lightning killed about 1300 people in India in 2024. One particularly deadly lightning event killed 72 people on 10 July in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.
4) There were unusually intense marine heatwaves in the northern Indian Ocean.
5) Severe cyclonic storm Remal made landfall in West Bengal, India, on 26 May 2024.
6) Cyclonic storm Fengal made landfall in India on 30 November.