India, China saw warmest year in decades in 2024: Weather bodies
The United Nations said last month that 2024 was set to be the warmest year ever recorded, capping a decade of unprecedented heat
India and China saw warmest year in decades in 2024, according to weather bodies of the respective countries.
Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken, reports Reuters.
The national average temperature stood at 10.92 degrees Celsius (51.66 Fahrenheit) last year, more than 1 degree higher than 2023, according to weather.com.cn, a service portal run by the China Meteorological Administration.
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The ten warmest years since records started in 1961 were all in the 21st century, the service portal said.
For densely populated Shanghai, China's financial hub, 2024 was the warmest since the Qing dynasty, data from the Shanghai meteorological bureau showed on Wednesday.
The city's average temperature stood at 18.8 Celsius, the hottest since Shanghai's meteorological records began in 1873.
Last year's warmer weather, accompanied by stronger storms and higher rainfall, led to spikes in power consumption in the world's second-largest economy.
India's meteorological department said Wednesday that 2024 was the hottest year since 1901, with sizzling temperatures in the world's most populous nation following a global pattern of extreme weather sparked by climate change, reports AFP.
"The year 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1901," Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department, told reporters.
"The annual mean land surface air temperature across India in 2024 was 0.65 degrees Celsius above the long-term average, 1991-2020 period."
India sweltered through its longest ever heatwave last year, with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
A heatwave in May in New Delhi saw temperatures match the capital's previous record high: 49.2 Celsius (120.5 Fahrenheit) clocked in 2022.
India is the world's third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieve a net zero emissions economy by 2070 -- two decades after most of the industrialised West.
The United Nations said last month that 2024 was set to be the warmest year ever recorded, capping a decade of unprecedented heat.
Climate change sparked a trail of extreme weather and record heat globally in 2024, fuelling natural disasters that caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
