In India, Slight Rise in Temperatures Is Tied to Heat Wave Deaths
in mean temperatures" — like the ones they analyzed — "may lead to large increases in heat-related mortality, unless measures are taken to substantially improve the resilience of vulnerable populations."
Some experts expect India’s temperature to rise by 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 to 5.5 Celsius) by the end of this century, the study said. that moderate and practically unavoidable increases
By MIKE IVESJUNE 8, 2017
HONG KONG — A temperature increase of less than one degree Fahrenheit over half a century raised the probability of mass heat-related deaths in India by two and a half times, a new study has found, in the latest sign
that even a slight rise can have a grave effect on health.
The new India study was based on data from the India Meteorological Department showing
that in the 50 years up to 2009, the country’s mean summer temperature rose by more than 0.9 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 Celsius).
Climate scientists predict that, without preventive action to curb emissions, global mean temperatures could rise by several degrees Celsius by the end of this century and warn
that a rise of more than 2 degrees could tip the earth into a future of irreversible rising seas and melting ice sheets.
The study’s authors used scientific modeling to show
that with a 0.9 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 Celsius) rise in temperature, the probability of a heat wave with more than 100 deaths in India increased to 32 percent from 13 percent.
David Mark Taylor said that provides evidence of not only warming in India, with some parts warming more than others, but also
that as warming progresses heat waves become more frequent and mor