india

Updated: Aug 03, 2019 00:58 IST

Data from the World Meteorological Organization shows the month of July “at least equalled if not surpassed the hottest month in recorded history” - and it followed the hottest June ever

‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’

*UN chief Antonio Guterres said the trend “ is even more significant because the previous hottest July occurred in 2016, during one of the strongest El Nino’s ever,” which -- was not the case this year.

*An El Nino is a natural warming of the ocean that leads to warmer global temperatures and changes rainfall patterns, making some places wetter and some places – such as India — drier.

*Arctic Sea ice is already near record low levels, he said, and the European heat wave last month has raised temperatures in the Arctic and Greenland by 10-15°C.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

*Greenhouses gas emissions must be cut by nearly half in the next 11 years, Guterres said, so that the world can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and meet goals set by the Paris climate accord.

*Rising heat will lead to productivity loss equivalent to 80 mn jobs by 2030. India may lose 34 million jobs, an ILO report said.

SILVER LINING

The UN chief said energy from renewable sources, such as solar, were now some of the cheapest sources of new power in virtually all major economies.

INDIA TOO RECORDS ITS WARMEST JULY

The mean temperature for July at 28.65°C was the highest ever in India this year, breaking the previous record of 28.64°C seen in 2015, an El Nino year

UNUSUAL EVENTS THIS PAST SUMMER

*Wildfires in Alaska

*Permafrost melting 70 years ahead of schedule

*Heatwave in some of the most northerly inhabited spots on the planet

YEAR OF HEAT RECORDS

New Delhi (48°C)

Adelaide, Australia (47.7°C)

Verargues, France (46°C)

Paris, France (42.6°C)

Geilenkirchen, Germany (42.6°C)

Anchorage, Alaska, US (32°C)