India, Pakistan (heatwave)

The India-Pakistan heatwave between March and June 2022, which affected 70% of India by the end of April and led to its worst energy shortage in over six years, was made approximately 30 times more likely by climate change induced by humans (Zachariah et al., 2022).

Hitting the subcontinent’s breadbasket region the hardest, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Balochistan saw losses of up to 50% for summer crops such as wheat, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.

Already in the current climate, on a typical summer day, labour productivity losses in New Delhi are reaching approximately 15-20 minutes per hour of work (Parsons et al., 2021).

Due mostly to the pull of improved livelihood opportunities, studies on heatwaves in Pakistan have identified a statistically significant link between heat stress and long-term migration (Mueller, Gray and Kosec, 2014; Umar and Saeed, 2018).

According to the 2021 IPCC report, heatwaves are increasing on all continents including South Asia. In the 2022 summer season, India’s total number of days with heat waves exceeded 200; a five-fold increase compared to 2021 (Mishra, 2022).

Read more about heat stress here.