Journalism of Courage
People in northern India have been enduring a relentless heatwave lasting for weeks, leading to school closures in some areas and increasing the risk of heatstrokes for outdoor labourers. (PTI Photo)
India’s weather department expects the high temperatures to persist across the region for the next few days and has put several states on high alert. (PTI Photo)
However, the National Capital, that saw one of the weather stations recording a temperature as high as 52.9 degrees Celsius, on Wednesday, also experienced a dust storm followed by light rain in isolated places. (PTI Photo)
The National Capital on Wednesday witnessed light rains and thunderstorm amidst record breaking temperatures and severe heatwave conditions. (PTI Photo)
While North India suffered from scorching heat, six people were killed in West Bengal in rain-related incidents triggered by cyclone Remal that struck the Bay of Bengal coastline on Sunday night. (PTI Photo)
While at least 27,000 houses were damaged in the coastal districts of West Bengal, Remal led to large scale damage in the relatively faraway Northeast as well (PTI Photo)
Heavy rains, caused by the cyclone, triggered landslides in several places in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam, and Nagaland, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 30 people so far. (PTI Photo)
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had warned of this in all its cyclone bulletins. Almost the entire region, including Sikkim and northern West Bengal, is landslide prone. (PTI Photo)
Over the last few years, India has witnessed events in which heavy rainfall has resulted in a breach of glacial lakes, causing flash floods that have resulted in landslides and flooding. (PTI Photo)
April, May and June are always hot in most parts of India before monsoon rains bring cooler temperatures. But extreme heat is fast becoming a public health crisis in India (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
With the warm weather getting more intense in the past decade and typically accompanied by severe water shortages. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
An analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) initiative published this month found that climate change made the current extreme temperatures in India 45 times more likely than without climate change. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)
The rains usually offer a reprieve from the heat but if heatwaves persist and overlap with rain, the combination of heat and humidity can be particularly deadly. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
If global temperatures continue to increase, so will the range and length of heatwaves. That means other affected sectors, such as agriculture, will need to have adaptation plans, too. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
The heatwaves have started earlier and are affecting a larger part of the country than in previous years. The past three years' temperatures are also hotter than previous ones in the historical trend. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
The extreme heat in northern India has coincided with a 6-week general election, increasing health risks as people wait in long lines to cast their vote. The voting ends on Saturday. (PTI Photo)
