What if summers in India turn 8-month long?
The world is getting not only hotter but also more humid. As a result of global increases in both temperature and specific humidity, heat stress is projected to intensify throughout the 21st century. Some of the regions most susceptible to dangerous heat and humidity combinations are also among the most densely populated. The combined scientific measure of heat and humidity is called wet-bulb temperature, which hardly ever crossed 32°C between 1985 and 2005. The nature of such heat waves has since changed because of rapidly growing greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change. India’s energy future could tip the scales of global climate change, but the extreme weather is already here. The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus-Ganga Plain and the North Indian River Plain, is one of the world’s most climate-sensitive regions. The wet-bulb temperatures currently touch 31°C, on average, one day every year. By the 2070s, these heat waves may beco