Over 2,220 deaths in India due to extreme weather in 2022, highest in three years
This underlined the need for better disaster management preparedness, weather warnings and climate-friendly living conditions. The death toll in 2021 was 1,750 and in 2020, 1,338 died in India, as per earlier climate statements issued by the IMD.
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Also, last year, India's annual rainfall was 108 per cent of the Long Period Average and all the seasons recorded normal to above normal rainfall.
The highest number of human casualties in India due to extreme weather events in three years – 2,227 – was reported in 2022, according to the Annual Statement on Climate of India – 2022 issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
This underlined the need for better disaster management preparedness, weather warnings and climate-friendly living conditions. The death toll in 2021 was 1,750 and in 2020, 1,338 died in India, as per earlier climate statements issued by the IMD.
Last year, a total of 1,285 people (58 per cent of total casualties) died due to lightning strikes and thunderstorms, up from 787 (2021) and 737 (2020), as per the IMD’s climate statements. Of the 418 deaths in Bihar, 415 were due to lightning and thunderstorms. The casualties due to lightning and thunderstorms in other states were Odisha (168), Jharkhand (122), Madhya Pradesh (116), Uttar Pradesh (81), Rajasthan (78), Chhattisgarh (71), Maharashtra (64) and Assam (58).
Similarly, heavy rain, floods and landslides were the second highest killer in 2022, claiming 835 lives (37 per cent) while this figure was 759 in 2021 and 414 in 2020.
After Bihar, the states most vulnerable to extreme weather events last year were Assam (257 casualties), Uttar Pradesh (201), Maharashtra and Odisha (194 each), Jharkhand (130) , Rajasthan (126), Madhya Pradesh (117) and Chhattisgarh (79). Union territories such as Delhi, Ladakh and Puducherry, along with Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Punjab, reported fewer than 10 deaths in 2022, stated the IMD report.
According to the latest climate statement, last year was the fifth warmest year since 1901, with the annual mean surface air temperatures averaging +0.51 degrees Celsius above the long-term average (1981 – 2010). Except for winter, when the all-India mean temperature was normal, all other seasons reported higher-than-normal respective mean temperatures, with the increase ranging between 0.36 to 1.6 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. In fact, December was the warmest in 122 years, when the mean monthly temperature recorded was 21.49 degrees Celsius.
Also, last year, India’s annual rainfall was 108 per cent of the Long Period Average and all the seasons recorded normal to above normal rainfall.
2022 will also go down as a year that saw the North Indian Ocean basin — comprising the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea — being most active in the recent past. In 2022, a total of 15 cyclonic disturbances developed in this basin against a normal of 11.2. This included three cyclones – Asani, Sitrang and Mandous – which claimed five lives in India and 38 in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka collectively.
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