"Dangerous to stay outdoors for a long time": extreme heat in India - expert warns urgently
Created: 05/05/2022, 10:26 am
By: Yasina Hipp
In India and Pakistan, millions of people are currently suffering from an extreme heat wave.
A German climate researcher sees only one solution for this in the future.
Potsdam/India/Pakistan - Water shortages, power failures and fires: India and Pakistan are currently being hit by extreme heat that is pushing the population to their limits.
Temperatures of around 45 degrees are not uncommon in the two countries - but not at the end of April and beginning of May.
The unbearable heat not only has catastrophic consequences for everyday life.
In agriculture in some Indian states, large falls in wheat yields of 10 to 35 percent have to be accepted, as reported by
The Economic Times
.
For the Potsdam climate researcher Stefan Rahmstorf, this heat wave is just the beginning.
Climate researcher Rahmstorf: "Heat extremes will continue to increase"
Such temperatures, which we Central Europeans can hardly imagine, such as those in India and Pakistan at the moment, could occur more and more frequently in the future.
"As long as global warming continues, it is clear that heat extremes will also continue to increase," says Rahmstorf, head of the Earth System Analysis department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
An end to the Indian heat wave is currently not in sight, the expert told the
dpa
.
Rather, values are reached in the densely populated regions "where it is really dangerous to stay outdoors for a long time".
The thermometer could rise to values of over 50 degrees Celsius.
The World Health Organization for Meteorology also points out the extreme weather in the two countries.
The organization writes on Twitter: "Heat waves are a sign of climate change".
The experts post a photo showing the air temperatures over the planet.
India and Pakistan, as well as Oman and parts of North Africa, are illuminated in neon pink, which clearly reflects the extreme temperatures.
Climate change and extreme heat: Emissions of greenhouse gases must be reduced
In view of the extraordinary situation in India and Pakistan, Rahmstorf warns: "We have to implement the Paris Agreement so that the whole thing doesn't get completely out of hand." The emission of greenhouse gases must absolutely be reduced.
With regard to the attitude towards climate change, Rahmstorf notices a rethinking in the population and attributes this change primarily to the efforts of Fridays for Future.
The Potsdam researcher also relies on politics.
On Twitter he writes: "The new energy transition partnership with Germany is a reason for hope for the future." India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz a few days ago.
The two heads of state concluded an agreement on stronger future cooperation, especially on climate issues.