Heavy rainfall, floods and thunderstorms were the major extreme weather events in 2022: Report
Pune district experienced heavy rainfall, floods and thunderstorms with lightning in 2022, according to a report by the India Meteorological Department. The district had 33% excess rainfall, resulting in agricultural losses. The report also revealed that 2,770 people died in the country as a result of extreme weather, with 1,580 deaths from lightning and thunderstorms, 1,050 deaths from floods and heavy rain, and the remainder from other events. The report aims to capture regional climate variability and includes data on loss and damage due to severe weather.
A report published by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has revealed that heavy rainfall, floods and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning were major extreme weather events experienced by Pune district in the year 2022.
The report titled ‘State-wise Annual Climate Statement for the Year 2022’ was released on Friday, April 28, by the Office of Climate Research and Services (CRS), IMD Pune. According to the report, Pune district experienced thunderstorms accompanied by lightning during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods and heavy rainfall and flood-like situations during the monsoon and post-monsoon periods. Accordingly, the district experienced 33% excess rainfall with one to seven heavy rainfall events in various areas of the district which resulted in agricultural losses.
The report further stated that there were about 2,770 human lives lost in the country as a whole due to various extreme weather events. Of these, about 1,580 deaths were reported due to lightning and thunderstorms; about 1,050 deaths due to flood and heavy rains; while the remaining deaths were due to other events such as heatwaves, hailstorms, and dust storms. The most affected states in terms of loss of human lives were Uttar Pradesh (589 casualties), Bihar (about 418 casualties), Assam (258 casualties), Maharashtra (240 casualties), and Odisha (194 casualties).
K S Hosalikar, head of CRS, said, “The statement on climate for the state of Maharashtra in 2022 is prepared based on real-time meteorological observations across the state at the district/block level in different seasons and taking the reference of more than 100 years of past climate data for the state. So, the observations made in this report are very important for different sectors like agriculture, health, power, disaster management, water, etc. This joint report is prepared by the IMD with crucial inputs from the state government. It is suggested that with the increasing need for sustainable development at the global and regional levels, this type of joint reports/ventures will be path breaking for the society.”
The ‘State-wise Annual Climate Statement for the Year 2022’ is in line with the annual climate statement prepared for the entire country. The work is the result of a collaboration between the IMD and various state governments.
The statement of climate attempts to capture the regional climate variability of the state, especially with respect to weather parameters such as temperature and rainfall which have a huge impact on sectors like agriculture, health, power, water management, among others. This statement on climate of 2022 includes inputs such as loss and damage data due to severe weather and other factors which are received from the state governments.
