2022 to be the fifth warmest year for India since 1901: Meteorological Department

New Delhi: The year 2022 has been recorded as the fifth hottest year since 1901 in the country. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) started keeping meteorological records in 1901. In a statement on India's climate during 2022, the Meteorological Office said the annual average land surface temperature was 0.51 °C higher than the long-term average, which is the average temperature for the period 1981-2010.

However, it was less than the maximum number of warm days recorded in India in 2016 when the average temperature rose by 0.71 degree Celsius.

The mean temperature at all India levels during the winter season of 2022 – January to February was normal with a discrepancy of -0.04°C. The temperature from March to May before the monsoon was above normal with an anomaly of 1.06°C, the rainfall received over the country in the year 2022. The long-period average based on the period 1971-2020 was 108 percent.

Last year also saw 15 cyclonic events, including three cyclonic storms and 12 low-pressure areas over the North Indian Ocean, against a normal of 11.2 based on data for the years 1965-2021. Apart from these, unusual weather like extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslides, lightning, thunderstorms, and drought were also experienced in different parts of the country.

(ASHNA)