India: heatwave trends in a changing climate

Greenpeace India assesses heatwave projections based on distinctive scenarios of Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 report. The projections in the scenario where CO2 emissions double by 2050(SSP5-8.5), reveal that Delhi’s maximum temperature will be 4oC higher than the average in the 2080-2099 period. In the same period Delhi’s average temperature will be 5 degrees warmer than now with a maximum temperature that can reach 48.19o C. The national capital’s recent heatwave recorded 43oC on 29th April, 2022 which is well above its average maximum temperature for the month of April. Analysis of the historical daily temperature for April from 1970-2020 suggests that only 4 years have recorded a value higher than 43oC.