India needs a heat stress index, even during winters: Experts

The lack of a localised heat stress index for India that takes into account both temperatures and relative humidity was highlighted at the International Conference on Lightning and Extreme Weather Events on December 9, 2024. This comes at a time when high wintertime minimum temperatures are being experienced in many places across the country.

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Kumar's research shows that with future warming and increased moisture levels in the atmosphere the coastal areas of the country would be more at risk from heat stress than other areas such as the Indo-Gangetic plains, where heat waves have been a major risk till date.

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Changes in heat stress levels in many Indian coastal cities, especially along the western coast such as Surat and Mumbai, was drastic throughout the daytime hours between 2001 and 2020 as compared to 1981 and 2000, according to Kumar's research.

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In early December when wintertime moderate temperatures should have set in, Mumbai was clocking minimum temperatures in excess of 25°C, Ratnagiri recorded a minimum temperature of 26.6°C and Goa 26°C, as per M Herrera, weather historian and data analyst.

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