Human-driven climate change responsible for April heatwaves: Report
The severe and unusually early heatwave experienced by India and Pakistan in mid-April 2025, when temperatures went up to 5 degrees Celsius above average, was influenced by human-driven climate change, with natural climate variability playing a minor role, as per ClimaMeter.
The study found that meteorological conditions leading to the April 2025 India and Pakistan heatwave are up to 4 degrees Celsius warmer in the present, as compared with the second half of the 20th century.
The analysis, which looks at changes in weather patterns since 1950, shows significant anomalies in the region’s surface pressure, wind speed, and temperature patterns, with current conditions being wetter, less windier, and colder than in previous decades. Changes in precipitation and wind speed can be directly attributed to human-driven climate change which has led to the increase in concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Climate change is significantly contributing to the increase in heatwaves in India through various mechanisms: warming resulting from climate change has led to an increased frequency, intensity, and duration of heat-related events, including heatwaves, in most land regions.
Climate change will also alter land conditions, impacting temperature and rainfall in regions. This can enhance winter warming due to decreased snow cover while reducing warming during the growing season in tropical areas with increased rainfall. Add urbanisation to the mix and cities and their surroundings will be hotter, especially during heatwaves with a higher impact on night-time temperatures than daytime temperatures.
The consequences are many: rising cases of heat-related illnesses, widespread disruptions to agricultural productivity, and critical water shortages being the most direct. As temperatures approach thresholds that test human survivability, these extreme conditions underscore profound vulnerabilities in healthcare systems, food security, and essential infrastructure.
As per experts, spring and summer heatwaves are pushing the limits of the living conditions of over one billion people in the Indo-Gangetic valley, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable sectors of the population and especially on people working in agriculture, in the construction sector, women, and children. Coupled with the uncertain fate of the summer Monsoon, and with the dramatic worsening of winter pollution, tackling these changes becomes a major priority.
ClimaMater is a rapid experimental framework which analyses weather events as soon as they occur and puts them in a climate perspective.
India