New Delhi, April 10 -- In 2015, India committed to the Paris Agreement, pledging to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with an ideal target of 1.5 C for a sustainable future. However, India's mean surface temperature has already risen by 1 C since 1950, reaching 25.02 C in 2023. The rate of warming has accelerated since economic liberalisation in 1991, resulting in a 0.5 C increase over just 32 years.

In 2024, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 77 heatwave events, spanning a cumulative 536 days across the country. This year, parts of Odisha experienced heatwaves as early as February and March, with temperatures soaring to 43.6 C on March 16 in the town of Boudh. February 2025 was the ho...