NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – India noticed an enormous bounce in excessive climate occasions similar to heatwaves and lightning strikes this yr and associated deaths rose to their highest in three years, authorities information confirmed on Wednesday, with scientists blaming local weather change for the heavy toll.

There have been practically eight occasions as many heatwaves, 27 in all, and lightning strikes rose greater than 111 occasions, killing 907 folks, the Ministry of Earth Sciences mentioned in a report back to parliament.

Thunderstorms elevated greater than 5 occasions to 240.

This yr’s 2,183 deaths resulting from such occasions till final month have been the very best since 2019’s 3,017. Lightning and floods and heavy rains accounted for 78% of the deaths this yr, the information confirmed.

Temperatures throughout India’s monsoon season have risen this century and the nation might see extra frequent heatwaves in future, the federal government mentioned in August. India is the world’s third-largest carbon polluter, although its per-capita emissions are a lot decrease than many developed nations.

The nation of practically 1.4 billion suffered its hottest March in additional than a century and temperatures have been unusually excessive in April and May, blamed primarily on local weather change.

The World Health Organization says that from 1998-2017, greater than 166,000 folks died resulting from heatwaves globally. It says that between 2030 and 2050, local weather change is anticipated to trigger about 250,000 extra deaths per yr from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and warmth stress.

India’s western neighbour Pakistan confronted devastating floods this yr that lined a 3rd of the nation, killed greater than 1,500 folks and impacted thousands and thousands.

(Reporting Krishna N. Das; Editing by Nick Macfie)