2019 India–Pakistan heat wave

Heat waves worldwide have become more extreme and more frequent due to human-influenced climate change and global warming.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/06/11/climate-change-intensified-last-summers-northern-hemisphere-heat-wave-it-may-be-starting-all-over-again/|title=Planet is entering 'new climate regime' with 'extraordinary' heat waves intensified by global warming, study says|last=Samenow|first=Jason|date=11 June 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=23 June 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/world/killer-heat-waves-rising/index.html|title=Deadly heat waves becoming more common due to climate change|last=Miller|first=Brandon|date=27 July 2018|website=CNN|access-date=23 June 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/influence-global-warming-us-heat-waves-may-be-felt-first-west-and|title=Influence of global warming on U.S. heat waves may be felt first in the West and Great Lakes regions|last=Lindsey|first=Rebecca|date=2 April 2018|website=Climate.gov|access-date=23 June 2019}} Since 2004, India and Pakistan have experienced 11 of its 15 warmest recorded years.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/India-likely-to-witness-its-worst-summer-ever-temperatures-will-remain-severe-for-a-long-time/articleshow/69749850.cms|title=India likely to witness its worst summer ever, temperatures will remain severe for a long time|date=12 June 2019|website=Business Insider India|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615012629/https://www.businessinsider.in/india-likely-to-witness-its-worst-summer-ever-temperatures-will-remain-severe-for-a-long-time/articleshow/69749850.cms|archive-date=15 June 2019|url-status=dead}} The frequency and duration of heat waves in India and Pakistan has increased. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has identified several contributing factors, including "El Niño Modoki", an irregular El Niño in which the central Pacific Ocean is warmer than the eastern part, and the loss of tree cover, which reduces shade, increasing temperatures, and reduces moisture in soil, which results in less evapotranspiration and more heat transfer into the atmosphere.{{cite web|url=https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2019-05-31-heatwave-maharashtra-telangana-andhra-pradesh-rayalaseema-vidarbha|title=Heat Takes Heavy Toll Across India|date=31 May 2019|website=The Weather Channel|access-date=7 June 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2019-05-20-heatwave-el-nino-india-evapotranspiration-soil-el-nino-modoki-central|title=Study Shows Increase in Heatwave Conditions from Next Year|date=20 May 2019|website=The Weather Channel|access-date=7 June 2019}}

In response to the growing number of deaths from heat waves, the Indian government, although not addressing the root causes, began implementing measures intended to save lives in 2013. In Ahmedabad, for example, "school days were reduced, government work programs ceased, and free water was distributed in busy areas." Public gardens were opened during the daytime so that people could seek shade. Professor of public health Parthasarathi Ganguly estimated that 800 fewer people died in 2014 as a result of these policies.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/02/india-heat-wave-deaths-public-health-measures|title=India slashes heatwave death toll with series of low-cost measures|last=Safi|first=Michael|date=2 June 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=10 June 2019}}

In India, the rainy monsoon season typically begins on 1 June. However, in 2019, the season was delayed by seven days and began on 8 June. When it did occur, the monsoon made slow progress and only brought rains to 10–15% of the country by 19 June. Normally, two-thirds of the country would have received monsoon rains by this time. The lack of rainfall has intensified heat wave conditions and increased water scarcity.{{cite web|url=https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2019-06-18-monsoon-rain-deficiency-44-despair-drought-maharashtra|title=As Monsoon Makes Slowest Progress in 12 Years, Rain Deficit Crosses 44%|website=The Weather Channel|access-date=20 June 2019}}

{{Location map many

| India

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| label1 = Churu {{convert|50.8|C}}

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| label2 = Allahabad {{convert|48.9|C}}

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{{Location map many

| Pakistan

| width = 300

| caption = Significantly affected cities in Pakistan

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| label1 = Islamabad/Rawalpindi {{convert|42|C}}

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| label2 = Jacobabad {{convert|49|C}}

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}}

The heat wave has caused multiple deaths and cases of illness. As of 31 May 2019, 8 deaths and 456 cases of illness due to heat were reported in Maharashtra, at least 17 deaths in Telangana, and 3 deaths and 433 cases of heat stroke in Andhra Pradesh. On 10 June 2019, three passengers were found dead on a train as it arrived in Jhansi, apparently due to the extreme heat. A fourth passenger was found in critical condition and brought to a hospital where they died of overheating.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kanpur/four-kerala-express-passengers-die-due-to-heat-in-jhansi/articleshow/69737867.cms|title=Four Kerala Express passengers die due to heat in Jhansi|last=Chauhan|first=Arvind|date=11 June 2019|website=The Times of India|access-date=11 June 2019}} In the state of Bihar, heat-related deaths reached 184 on 18 June according to Al Jazeera, while according to Zee News the death toll was 139 on 19 June 2019.{{cite web|url=https://zeenews.india.com/bihar/heatwave-claims-lives-of-139-people-in-bihar-2212675.html|title=Heatwave claims lives of 139 people in Bihar|date=19 June 2019|website=Zee News|access-date=19 June 2019}}

High temperatures have broken or nearly broken records in various cities across India and Pakistan. At one point, 11 of the 15 warmest places in the world were all located in the country. On 2 June 2019, the city of Churu recorded a temperature of {{convert|50.8|C}}, only one-fifth of a degree Celsius short of the country's highest-ever temperature, {{convert|51|C}} during the 2016 heat wave. On 9 June 2019, Allahabad reached {{convert|48.9|C}}, breaking its previous all-time record. On 3 and 4 June 2019, the temperature in Jacobabad reached {{convert|49|C}} making Pakistan's highest-ever temperature.{{cite web |url=https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/temperatures-pass-50-c-as-grueling-india-heat-wave-enters-2nd-week-with-no-end-in-sight/70008441 |title=Temperatures pass 50 C as grueling India heat wave enters 2nd week with no end in sight |last=Leister |first=Eric |date=6 June 2019 |website=www.accuweather.com|access-date=2019-07-01}} On 10 June 2019, the temperature in Delhi reached {{convert|48|C}}, a new record high for the city in the month of June.{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhi-weather-delhi-at-48-degrees-highest-ever-in-june-says-weather-agency-skymet-2051014|title=Delhi at 48 Degrees, Highest Ever in June As Heat Wave Sweeps North India|last=Mishra|first=Himanshu|date=10 June 2019|website=NDTV|access-date=11 June 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/india/delhi-records-highest-temperature-in-history|title=Delhi records highest temperature in history|date=10 June 2019|website=Khaleej Times|access-date=11 June 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhi-records-all-time-high-of-48-degrees-celsius-heat-wave-to-continue/articleshow/69727572.cms|title=Delhi records all-time high of 48 degrees Celsius in June, heatwave to continue|date=10 June 2019|website=The Times of India|access-date=11 June 2019}} On the same day, peak power usage in Delhi reached 6,686 MW, breaking all previous records. On 29 June 2019, the temperature in Islamabad and Rawalpindi reached {{convert|42|C}}.

The total number of deaths is unknown. For comparison, the 2003 European heat wave killed an estimated 35,000–70,000 people,"Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death toll at more than 70,000" (from article)

{{Cite journal

| doi = 10.1016/j.crvi.2007.12.001

| issn = 1631-0691

| volume = 331

| issue = 2

| pages = 171–178

| last1 = Robine

| first1 = Jean-Marie

| first2 = Siu Lan K. |last2=Cheung |first3=Sophie |last3=Le Roy |first4=Herman |last4=Van Oyen |first5=Clare |last5=Griffiths |first6=Jean-Pierre |last6=Michel |first7=François Richard |last7=Herrmann

| title = Solongo

| journal = Comptes Rendus Biologies

| year = 2008

| pmid = 18241810

| url = https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/10.1016/j.crvi.2007.12.001/

| url-access = subscription

}} with temperatures slightly less than in India and Pakistan. In human temperature physiology, core temperatures of {{convert|40.0|or|41.5|C|sigfig=5|1}} are said to be a fever of type hyperpyrexia, and considered a medical emergency as temperature may lead to problems including permanent brain damage, or death.{{cite journal | vauthors = McGugan EA | title = Hyperpyrexia in the emergency department | journal = Emergency Medicine | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 116–20 | date = March 2001 | pmid = 11476402 | doi = 10.1046/j.1442-2026.2001.00189.x }}

{{Main|2019 Chennai water crisis}}

Droughts and water shortages have occurred in multiple states and provinces across India and Pakistan,{{cite web|url=https://gulf-times.com/story/635457|title=Country's water woes may worsen|date=1 July 2019|website=Gulf-Times}} worsening heat wave conditions. In Chennai, millions of people are without consistent access to water. A lack of rainwater and groundwater has left four of the reservoirs that supply the city completely dry. The inability to meet demand for water has forced businesses like hotels and restaurants to close. Water tankers from areas of Tamil Nadu unaffected by drought have been bringing water into some areas of the city. However, government tankers can take up to a month to appear after requested, so some wealthy residents and business owners have opted to pay for costly private water tankers. The poor who live in slums do not have this option; a family in Chennai's slums may receive as little as {{convert|30|L|usgal|abbr=off}} of water every day compared to an average American household which uses {{convert|1100|L|usgal|abbr=off}} of water a day. In Coimbatore, at least 550 people were arrested for protesting the city's government for mismanaging the water crisis.

Conflicts over access to water have also occurred throughout India. On 7 June, six people were stabbed in Jharkhand during a fight near a water tanker, and one man was killed in a similar fight in Tamil Nadu. In Madhya Pradesh on 5 June, a fight over water led to two men being "seriously injured", while in a separate fight a day earlier, a water tanker driver was "beaten up". In early June, fifteen monkeys were found dead in a forest in Madhya Pradesh, possibly as a result of the heat wave. Veterinarian Arun Mishra says this may have happened due to a conflict over water with a larger group of 30–35 monkeys. Mishra said this was "rare and strange" because herbivores do not usually engage in such conflicts.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-heatwaves-monkey-deaths-water-madhya-pradesh-a8950131.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609125518/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-heatwaves-monkey-deaths-water-madhya-pradesh-a8950131.html |archive-date=2019-06-09 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=India heatwave: Desperation for water thought to have made 15 monkeys kill each other|last=Embury-Dennis|first=Tom|date=8 June 2019|website=The Independent|access-date=10 June 2019}}

{{Main|2019 Bihar encephalitis outbreak}}

The heat wave is a possible aggravating factor in an encephalitis outbreak in Bihar which has killed over 100 children since 1 June.{{Cite news|publisher=Indian Express Group|oclc=70274541|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/heat-lack-of-nutrition-awareness-add-to-aes-bihar-kids-toll-over-100-5785552/|title=Heat, lack of nutrition, awareness add to AES, Bihar kids toll over 100|date=2019-06-18|work=The Indian Express|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-06-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618042855/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/heat-lack-of-nutrition-awareness-add-to-aes-bihar-kids-toll-over-100-5785552/|archive-date=18 June 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/litchi-toxins-or-heat-wave-doctors-explain-whats-causing-the-deadly-encephalitis-epidemic-in-bihar-2191335.html|title=Litchi Toxins, Malnutrition or Heat Wave? Doctors Explain What's Causing Deadly AES Epidemic in Bihar|website=News18|date=18 June 2019 |access-date=2019-06-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618065240/https://www.news18.com/news/india/litchi-toxins-or-heat-wave-doctors-explain-whats-causing-the-deadly-encephalitis-epidemic-in-bihar-2191335.html|archive-date=18 June 2019|url-status=live}}

The Indian National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had a goal for keeping heat related deaths this year to single digits. In 2018, the heat wave death toll was kept at 20 through public safety measures; for example, government workers across the country conducted awareness campaigns and distributed free water. However in 2019, the national general election took place and workers who normally issued heat wave warnings were instead performing election duties.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/india-heat-wave-deaths.html|title=India Heat Wave, Soaring Up to 123 Degrees, Has Killed at Least 36|last=Mashal|first=Mujib|date=13 June 2019|website=The New York Times|access-date=23 June 2019}}

In early June, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a severe heat wave warning in Rajasthan and nearby areas such as Delhi. The Ministry of Health advised avoiding the sun between noon and 3 p.m. and not drinking alcohol, tea, or coffee. Meanwhile the NDMA recommended covering the head, cross-ventilating rooms, and sleeping under a slightly wet sheet.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/its-horrid-india-roasts-under-heat-wave-with-temperatures-above-120-degrees/2019/06/05/bd713dea-877c-11e9-b1a8-716c9f3332ce_story.html|title='It is horrid': India roasts under heat wave with temperatures above 120 degrees|last=Slater|first=Joanna|date=5 June 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=7 June 2019}}

Asphalt used for roads expectantly begins to melt at {{Convert|50|C}}; therefore, on 3 June, the government of Churu poured water onto roads in order to cool them and prevent them from melting.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-weather-heatwave-idUSKCN1T4125|title=World's 15 hottest places are in India, Pakistan as pre-monsoon heat builds|last=Dasgupta|first=Shounak|date=3 June 2019|website=Reuters|access-date=10 June 2019}}

In response to fights over water in Madhya Pradesh, the police were deployed to guard water tankers and other sources of water from rioters, beginning 8 June.

On 17 June, the government of Gaya, a city in Bihar, imposed Section 144 to be active, which empowers an executive magistrate to prohibit an assembly of more than four persons in an area, and banned construction work and assemblies between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The Pakistan Medical Association urged people to learn about the measures to avoid heat-related deaths.{{cite web|url=https://www.dentalnewspk.com/pma-issues-guideline-for-people-to-avoid-heat-wave/|title=PMA issues guideline for people to avoid heat-wave|date=17 June 2019|access-date=1 July 2019|archive-date=1 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701173256/https://www.dentalnewspk.com/pma-issues-guideline-for-people-to-avoid-heat-wave/|url-status=dead}}

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{{List of heat waves|state=autocollapse}}

{{Disasters in India in 2019}}

Heat wave

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Category:2010s heat waves

Category:2019 meteorology

Category:2019 natural disasters

Category:Heat waves in India

Category:Heat waves in Pakistan

Category:June 2019 in India

Category:June 2019 in Pakistan

Category:May 2019 in India

Category:May 2019 in Pakistan

Category:Climate change in India

Category:Climate change in Pakistan