India getting warmer, hotter: 2021 fifth warmest year since 1901, says IMD

2012-2021 warmest decade on record; extreme weather events claimed 1,750 lives last year, shows latest report

India is getting hotter. The latest annual report on the country’s climate by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) states that 2021 was not only the fifth warmest year since 1901, but that the last decade, 2012- 2021, was also the warmest on record.

Moreover, 11 of the 15 warmest years on record were between 2007 and 2021, the met department said. The rise in average temperatures could have a cascading effect on extreme weather events, crop patterns and urban disaster management.

In 2021, the annual mean land surface air temperature was 0.44 degree Celsius above the long period average (LPA).