India saw warmest year ever in 2024, extreme weather killed over 3,200

The year 2024 was India’s warmest year on record, the India Meteorological Department said in its Annual Climate Summary on Wednesday.

“The annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over India during 2024 was +0.65°C above the long-term average [1991-2020 period],” the report said. “This marked the warmest year since nationwide records began in 1901.”

Extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall, floods, landslides, heat waves and cold waves, killed more than 3,200 persons in 2024.

Of these, at least 1,280 deaths were due to lightning and thunderstorms, the report initially claimed. However, a table found later in the document indicated that the number may be as high as 1,374 deaths due to lightning and thunderstorms.

Floods and heavy rains caused between 1,280 to 1,287 deaths in 2024.

Bihar saw the most deaths due to lightning strikes, while Kerala reported the most casualties from floods and heavy rains. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were also listed among the top states reporting deaths due to extreme weather.

The mean land surface air temperature is the average temperature of the air at a specific location, measured 1 to 2 metres above the ground. The previous highest temperature was observed in 2016.

The report also noted that the annual rainfall in the country in 2024 was 104% of its long period...

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