'A sign of things to come': India and Pakistan heatwave made 30 times more likely by climate change, study finds
Temperatures even in parts of northern India - which is normally cooler - have soared to 49C this year.
Temperatures even in parts of northern India - which is normally cooler - have soared to 49C this year.
A study shows climate change made India and Pakistan’s record heat in March and April at least 30 times more likely to occur and about 1.8 degrees hotter.
The weather analysis suggests that high temperatures that used to occur about every 300 years in India and Pakistan may now occur about every three years.
Soaring temperatures in Pakistan and India have forced schools to close, damaged crops, put pressure on energy supplies and kept residents indoors. It even prompted experts to question whether such heat is fit for human survival.
A deadly cholera outbreak blamed on contaminated drinking water has infected thousands of people in central Pakistan as the country grapples with a water crisis exacerbated by a brutal heat wave in South Asia.
As scientists warn heat waves are 100 times more likely in the region, millions of workers can't afford to take a day off, even if the heat could kill them.
Warming since preindustrial times has made the extreme heat in South Asia, now in its third month, at least 30 times more likely.
Temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal scorched southern France and the Iberia Peninsula Friday.
In northwest India and Pakistan, a UK analysis finds heat that used to occur every 300 years may now happen about every three years.