The past decade was the hottest on record for India, and the year 2019 was the seventh warmest since 1901, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday. The average temperature during the year was 0.36 degrees Celsius higher than the average for the period 1981–2010.
As many as eight cyclonic storms were recorded this year, five of them from the Arabian Sea. This was the highest number of Arabian Sea cyclones since 1902 – the normal number is one per year, the IMD said in its report.
Extreme weather events, such as avalanches, floods, heat wave and thunderstorms, killed about 1,630 persons in 2019. Heat wave alone killed 349 of them – 292 in Bihar. The state had over 670 deaths in all due to extreme weather events. Nationwide, heavy rain and flood-related incidents killed 850 people.
The nationwide average mean monthly temperature was higher than the normal for nine months during the year – the year had the fourth warmest June, the seventh warmest April, the warmest July and the third warmest November since 1901. Eleven of the 15 warmest years on record were in the last 15 years, and 2016 was the warmest ever, the IMD said.
The annual rainfall in 2019 was 109% of the long period average for 1961–2010, the IMD said.
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