Arctic warming causing heatwaves in India

The deadly heat waves occurring in India are linked to the increasing temperatures in the Arctic region due to global warming, says a study conducted by researchers from India and Brazil, including one from the University of Hyderabad.

The results are worrying the scientists since the arctic region in the recent decades has been warming up at an alarming rate with an increase in temperature more than twice as fast as the global average.

The study titled 'Large-scale connection to Deadly Indian Heatwaves' was published in the Quarterly Journal of Royal Meteorology. The research found a correlation between the phenomenon "Quasi-Resonant Amplification" (QRA) and the occurrence of heatwaves in India.

Scientists through this research have discovered strong evidence that QRA also occurs in the spring season during April-May when heatwaves occur in India. They also found that heatwaves in India can be predicted at least four days in advance. Hence maximum surface temperatures can be used to predict heat waves.

These heatwaves have also been contributing to increased heat stress-related deaths in India. While the country recorded 55 such deaths in 2000, by 2015, the number of fatalities rose to 2,081.

A good number of studies have previously been conducted discovering the link between the occurrence of QRA in the summer season and extreme weather events such as the 2003 European heatwave, 2010 Pakistan floods, Russian heatwave and the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma heat waves. But this study is the first to analyze Arctic warming in spring and its consequences for planetary wave changes.