At least 1,428 people died due to extreme weather events in India in 2018, an official from the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences said on Wednesday. Madhavan Rajeevan, a secretary at the ministry, said 2018 was also the sixth warmest year on record since such nationwide records were introduced in 1901.
“Five warmest years on record in order were 2016, 2009, 2017, 2010 and 2015, all recent years,” he tweeted. “Global warming here.”
Rajeevan posted a map depicting extreme weather events in the country, and the number of people who died in them. As many as 223 people died during the floods in Kerala in August, the highest number of casualties in a single event in India in 2018.
Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of casualties due to extreme weather, at 590. Of this, 135 died from a cold wave between January 2 and 12, as many as 166 people died in thunderstorms in April and May, 92 in dust storms from May 2 to May 6, as many as 39 people died of lightning strikes in June, and 158 in rains and floods between June and September.
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