The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued orange and yellow alerts as many parts of the country were hit by a heatwave, with temperatures soaring up to 44°C in several regions, Hindustan Times reported. On Saturday, Kanpur recorded a maximum temperature of 44.4°C, Prayagraj 44.8°C, Sultanpur 44.8°C, Varanasi 44.2°C, Gaya 44.6°C, Jharsuguda 44.7°C, and Delhi Ridge 43.3°C, among others.
“Maximum temperatures are above normal by 3–5°C at many places over Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Northeast and west Rajasthan, North Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, adjoining Marathwada, northeast Jharkhand, west Gangetic West Bengal, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim,” the weather agency stated.
Normally, there are four to seven heatwave days between April and June, but this year there could be between six and 10, the IMD had forecast on April 1. Since early April, several stations across India have recorded heatwaves.
Heat danger limit may be closer to 31°C instead of the widely accepted 35°C?
The widely accepted wet-bulb temperature survival threshold of 35°C is being questioned. Recent physiological studies suggest the limit may actually be closer to 31°C, according to Harvard researchers. The findings were shared at an interdisciplinary conference held with the Union Environment Ministry to discuss heat stress in India and adaptation strategies, HT reported.
Wet-bulb temperature is a combined measure of heat and humidity and indicates the lowest temperature to which air can be cooled by evaporating water into it.
Massive flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban wash away NH-44 at 5 locations; three people killed
Heavy flash floods and landslides hit Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir on April 20, 2025, killing two children and an elderly man in Seri Bagna village. Another cloudburst occurred in Dharamkund village, about 20 km from Ramban town. Around 35 houses were destroyed, of which 10 were washed away, Down to Earth reported.
The floods severely damaged a 4–5 km stretch of the Jammu-Ramban section of NH-44. The highway was damaged at five locations, stranding dozens of passenger vehicles, trucks, and oil tankers. Many vehicles were buried under landslides.
Extended heatwave in India, Pakistan to test survivability limits, with temperatures reaching Death Valley levels
Temperatures in India and Pakistan are expected to climb to dangerous levels this week, CNN reported. Parts of Pakistan may experience temperatures up to 8°C above normal. Climate experts warn that rising temperatures are pushing the limits of human survivability and that by 2050, India may be among the first places to cross those limits.
Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly at risk. An advisor from the International Confederation of Midwives highlighted a rise in pregnancy-induced hypertension during summer, potentially leading to preeclampsia—the leading cause of maternal mortality.
Ganga basin records lowest snow persistence in 23 years: Report
Snow in the Ganga basin melted at the fastest rate in more than two decades in 2024, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Snow persistence in the basin was 24.1% below normal, the lowest in 23 years. This is expected to reduce early summer river flows and worsen heat stress and water scarcity.
The Indus basin also saw a sharp drop in snow persistence, from +19.5% in 2020 to -27.9% in 2025. Other regions, including the Mekong (-51.9%), Salween (-48.3%), Tibetan Plateau (-29.1%), Brahmaputra (-27.9%), and Yangtze (-26.3%), also saw significant declines, DTE reported.
Most of India Saw 3-10% Decline in Solar Irradiation in 2024
Extreme weather and poor air quality led to a 3–10% fall in solar irradiation across India in 2024, Mercom reported. The monsoon season saw rainfall exceeding the long-term average by nearly 8% above average. While this benefited agriculture and reservoirs, it hampered solar power generation.
Research by Solargis noted that air pollution, particularly during winter, significantly impacted solar output. January 2024 saw persistent fog and smog in Northern India for up to 20 days, with Global Horizontal Irradiance dropping 30–50% below average.
Deadly floods, storms and heatwaves: Europe suffered the ‘serious impacts’ of climate change in 2024
Floods and storms affected 413,000 people across Europe last year, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The continent also recorded its hottest year, with 45% of days much warmer than average and 12% setting new heat records, Euronews and The Guardian reported.
South-eastern Europe endured its longest recorded heatwave in July 2024, lasting 13 days and triggering wildfires affecting 42,000 people. Western Europe saw one of its wettest years since 1950, with floods hitting 30% of its river networks and causing damages exceeding €18 billion, Reuters reported.
Global warming exposed 2,466 km of new coastline in the arctic in 20 years: report
Global warming has been causing accelerated melting of glaciers in mountains and the two poles. In the Arctic, this has caused marine terminating glaciers — whose boundaries end in the ocean — to retreat at a rapid pace in the 21st century.
This has caused coastlines and land to appear in these regions, which were historically always covered in ice, reported CarbonCopy citing a study published in Nature. Around 2,466 km of coastline was uncovered between 2000 and 2020.
Around 66% of the new coastlines are to be found in mineral-rich Greenland, according to the study. It also found that these young paraglacial coastlines are highly dynamic, exhibiting high sediment fluxes and rapidly evolving landforms.
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