Tannuka Juneja
The India Meteorological Department said on Friday that 1,750 people died in extreme weather-related incidents in 2021. Maharashtra remained the most affected state, where 350 people died, followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Last year, 787 people died in thunderstorms and lightning in India, while 759 people died in incidents related to heavy rains and floods. According to the department’s annual climate statement, 172 people have died in cyclonic storms and 32 in other extreme weather-related incidents.
According to the statement, 215 people died in Maharashtra, 143 in Uttarakhand, 55 in Himachal Pradesh, 53 in Kerala, and 46 in Andhra Pradesh in incidents related to heavy rains and floods. In the incidents of thunderstorms and lightning, 213 people died in Odisha, 156 in Madhya Pradesh, 89 in Bihar, 76 in Maharashtra, 58 in West Bengal, 54 in Jharkhand, 49 in Uttar Pradesh and 48 in Rajasthan. The Meteorological Department said that 223 people died in Odisha, 191 in Madhya Pradesh, 147 in Uttarakhand, 102 in Bihar, 98 in Uttar Pradesh, 92 in Gujarat and 86 in West Bengal in incidents related to extremely bad weather.
At the same time, the India Meteorological Department has said that the year 2021 was the fifth warmest year in India since 1901. In this, the average annual air temperature in the country was recorded 0.44 degree Celsius above normal.
“The year 2021 was the fifth warmest year after 2016, 2009, 2017 and 2010, since 1901. The annual mean air temperature for the country was recorded at 0.44°C above normal,” the MeT department’s annual climate statement, 2021 stated.
“The warm temperature during winter and post-monsoon season mainly contributed to this,” it said.
In 2016, the annual mean air temperature for the country was 0.710°C above normal. It was 0.550°C and 0.541°C above the average temperature in 2009 and 2017, respectively. In 2010, the annual mean air temperature stood 0.539°C above normal, it said.
