'April is the cruellest month', but wasn't March too

Subhasish Mitra (Wide Angle)

'April is the cruellest month,' said renowned poet T S Elliot in the opening lines of his famous poem 'The Waste Land'.

 

But, quoting him a little out of context, it's not April but the month of March which has proved itself to be the hottest on record and the tenth straight month of historic heat, with sea surface temperatures also hitting a "shocking" new high.

 

Europe's climate monitor said every month, since June 2023, has beaten its own "hottest ever" tag -- and March 2024 was no exception.

 

It is the latest red flag in a year already marked by climate extremes and rising greenhouse gas emissions, spurring fresh calls for more rapid action to limit global warming.

 

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said that March globally was 1.68 degrees Celsius hotter than an average March between the years 1850-1900, the reference period for the pre-industrial era.

 

The March record was only broken by 0.1C but it is the broader trend that was more alarming, said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S.

 

Huge swathes of the planet endured above-average temperatures in March, from parts of Africa to Greenland, South America and Antarctica. 

 

It was not only the tenth consecutive month to break its own heat record, but capped the hottest 12-month period on the books -- 1.58C above pre-industrial average.

 

This doesn't mean the 1.5C warming limit agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015 has been breached -- that is measured in decades, not individual years.

 

The UN's IPCC climate panel has warned that the world will likely crash through 1.5C in the early 2030s.

 

The story at sea was no less "shocking", with a new record for global ocean surface temperature set in February eclipsed once again in March. That's being described as incredibly unusual.

 

Oceans cover 70 percent of the planet and have kept the Earth's surface liveable by absorbing 90 percent of the excess heat produced by the carbon pollution from human activity since the dawn of the industrial age. 

 

Hotter oceans mean more moisture in the atmosphere -- scientists say the air can generally hold around seven percent more water vapour for every 1C of temperature rise. This leads to increasingly erratic weather, like fierce winds and powerful rain.

 

Russia is reeling from some of its worst flooding in decades while parts of Australia, Brazil and France experienced an exceptionally wet March.

 

As climate records tumble, scientists are debating whether the extreme heat seen this past year was within the bounds of what was forecast -- or was something more uncharted.

 

Knowing fully well that India cannot escape the brunt of terrible heat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed India’s heat preparedness plans with senior officials.

 

PM Modi's concern stemmed from the India Meteorological Department's forecast earlier this month that summer temperatures in most parts of the country will be “above normal”, particularly in Central India and western peninsular India.

 

The prime minister called for all arms of government at central, state and district levels to work in synergy. He also stressed upon awareness creation along with adequate preparation in hospitals, highlighting the need for quick detection and putting out forest fires.

 

The year 2023 was the world’s warmest year on record and it has been 47 years since the Earth has had a colder-than-average year. According to the IMD, 2023 was the second warmest year in India in 122 years — the warmest ever recorded was 2016. But, the IMD predicts that most of India is likely to experience both above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures in April, May, and June.

 

States or regions most prone to increased heatwaves include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha,North Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, North Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. A high of 45.2 degrees Celsius was reported from parts of Raichur district, Karnataka, on April 6, with seven people from different villages suffering mild heat strokes.

 

Those at the greatest risk include children, pregnant women and the elderly; those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease; those who are socially isolated and the poor.

 

As the summer season intensifies, the state and civil society will be tasked with watching out for the extra-vulnerable, says Rajib Dasgupta, Professor (Community Health), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi .