Human-driven climate change worsened India's deadly heatwave in April 2026: Report

Mumbai: Human-induced climate change significantly worsened India’s severe heatwave in April 2026, driving temperatures in several cities close to 45°C and exposing millions of people to dangerous heat stress, according to a report by ClimaMeter.

The study warned that the extreme temperatures affected nearly 44 million people and threatened economic activity worth an estimated $341 billion, underlining the growing vulnerability of India’s population, agriculture and urban infrastructure to climate-linked disasters.

India’s Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ) covering Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana and parts of Maharashtra, has witnessed a statistically significant rise in the frequency and duration of heatwaves in recent years, the report said.

India experienced one of its harshest heat spells in late April 2026, particularly between April 24 and 28. On April 27, the India Meteorological Department recorded 47.6°C in Banda, Uttar Pradesh, while temperatures in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow hovered around 45°C, nearly 8°C above normal seasonal averages in some regions.

Authorities across several states issued heat alerts as electricity demand surged to record levels due to heavy use of cooling systems. Hospitals and healthcare facilities also reported a sharp increase in heat-related illnesses. In Lucknow alone, heat-related cases reportedly rose by 30–40 per cent, with incidents of sunstroke and heatstroke being reported from several parts of north and central India.

Experts said the situation was aggravated by deficient winter snowfall in the Himalayas and prolonged dry conditions, which intensified land heating across the Indo-Gangetic plains. Economists have also cautioned that prolonged heat stress and an erratic monsoon could fuel food inflation and push overall inflation beyond 5 per cent.

According to the ClimaMeter analysis, heatwave events like the one witnessed in April 2026 are now occurring in climatic conditions that are nearly 2°C warmer than those prevailing in earlier decades, substantially increasing the probability of extreme heat episodes.

The study noted that while natural climate variability played a limited role, the dominant driver behind the warming trend was human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and rising greenhouse gas emissions.

Researchers compared meteorological conditions associated with the April 2026 heatwave with similar weather patterns recorded during 1950–1987 and 1988–2025 using Copernicus ERA5 climate data. The findings reinforce growing scientific evidence that climate change is altering the baseline conditions in which Indian heatwaves develop, making them more frequent, intense and prolonged.

The research forms part of the ClimaMeter project funded by the European Union and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).