For several weeks, parts of India have been experiencing a violent heatwave that is arriving extremely early. As far back as the end of March – that is, even before the start of the hot season, also known as the pre-monsoon season – temperatures in a number of locations have been well above the 40 degrees Celsius mark.

At least twenty cities already above 40 degrees

According to the British newspaper The Independent, in the city of Barmer – in the state of Rajasthan, near the border with Pakistan – temperatures reached 45.6 degrees during the first week of April. Around twenty Indian cities have surpassed the 40-degree threshold.

Peter Dynes @PGDynes

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🚨 Extreme Heat waves across India and Pakistan, with some areas nearing 50°C this weekend. People are being told to stay indoors unless necessary.
The India Met Dept. warns this year may be even hotter than the last. The warming planet is threatening habitability in this region.

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Local authorities have issued an alert, urging particular caution for newborns, elderly people and those with chronic conditions. The main concern is precisely the fact that the season has only just begun. In 2024, the Asian nation experienced an "endless" extreme heatwave, with as many as 24 consecutive days of maximum temperatures above 45 degrees. A situation never recorded in history, which led to the deaths of at least 150 people.

In 2024, at least 150 deaths and 40,000 heatstroke cases in India

Science, for its part, has been explaining for decades that the rise in average global temperature will multiply the duration and frequency of extreme weather events, starting with heatwaves. It is no coincidence that India's meteorological department has warned that further periods of abnormal temperatures are likely over the coming summer. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha are considered particularly at risk. Experts are expecting heatwaves lasting at least ten or eleven days, that is "two to four days longer than normal," according to the department's head, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.

On top of all this, in a nation marked by deep inequalities and pockets of poverty like India, there is the added problem of the resilience of public infrastructure. It is no coincidence that the Ministry of Health has asked at-risk states to assess the potential impact on healthcare facilities. Similarly, the Ministry of Education has ordered the adoption of ad hoc protocols for managing schools during extreme heatwaves.

Healthcare facilities, schools and workers at risk

Another particularly serious problem for the vast Asian nation concerns energy infrastructure: high temperatures impose a heavy strain on air conditioning systems. This in turn forces India to increase its power production, often relying on its numerous coal-fired power plants – thereby worsening the climate crisis in a dangerous vicious cycle.

India Meteorological Department ✓ @Indiametdept

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Weather Warning for 15th April 2025

#imd #shorts #thunderstorm #rainfall #hailstorm #heatwave #Windy

@moesgoi @ndmaindia @DDNational @airnewsalerts

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Finally, there is the major issue of Indian workers: in 50 per cent of cases, their activities are carried out in exposed outdoor conditions. Consider that during the extreme heatwave of 2024, as many as 40,000 people were affected by suspected heatstroke.