2021 Declared Fifth Warmest Year on Record for India and Seventh Warmest Year Globally! Here’s a Look Back

January is a month of new hope, new beginnings, and new promises. It is also a month of introspection! As we compile data from the year gone by, January allows us to gauge how the world is coping with growing threats to humanity and biodiversity.

Climate change and global warming are certainly top the list of such global concerns. And as far as the data released in January is concerned, we are nowhere near the right trajectory to amend our past mistakes. Even as countries continue to debate the extent of climate action, the globe has continued to warm and warm more than ever before.

As per the World Meteorological Organisation (WHO), 2021 was one of the seven warmest years on record. This is despite the ongoing 2020-2022 La Niña events, which tend to have a temporary cooling effect on average global temperatures. The last seven years were the seven warmest on record worldwide, according to the annual findings released by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The findings showed that 2021 was the fifth warmest, followed closely by 2015 and 2018.

Even in India, the annual mean temperature averaged 0.44°C above the long period average (LPA) based on the 1981-2010 period in 2021. Therefore, 2021 was the fifth warmest year since nationwide records commenced in 1901, confirmed India Meteorological Department (IMD) this month.

“The year 2021 will be remembered for a record-shattering temperature of nearly 50°C in Canada, comparable to the values reported in the hot Saharan Desert of Algeria, exceptional rainfall, and deadly flooding in Asia and Europe as well as drought in parts of Africa and South America. Climate change impacts and weather-related hazards had life-changing and devastating impacts on communities on every single continent,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

Here’s a quick look at some such weather-related extreme events from 2021:

Hellish heatwaves in North America

The US Pacific Northwest and western Canada reeled under record-breaking sweltering heatwaves from the end of June through mid-July of 2021. Estimates suggest that the heatwaves, together, killed more than a thousand. Northern California, Idaho, Western Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the United States battled severe heat waves conditions.

The heatwave shattered the temperature records, particularly in Canada. One of the town’s Canada’s British Columbia, Lytton witnessed mercury levels as high as 49.6ºC. The deadly heatwave also fueled wildfire in the region. As a result, it destroyed most of Lytton town while also claiming several lives.

In Portland, Oregon, the temperatures breached the mark of 46ºC, while the satellite images show that ground temperature in Washington’s Wenatchee reached a whopping 63°C.

The heatwave led to a sharp spike in hospital cases due to heat-related issues across the region. The authorities had to set up cooling centres for people at several places like Multnomah County in Oregon. The heat was so extreme that it even melted power cables. Experts deemed the Pacific Northwest heatwave a “1 in the 1000 year event”! This intense heat episode is said to have triggered by a heat dome, which occurs when hot ocean air gets trapped in the atmosphere.

Wrenching wildfires

The year witnessed ferocious wildfires like never before! The EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service estimated that wildfires released 1.76 billion tons of carbon globally in 2021—double the Germany’s annual emissions. Episodes of extreme blazes were reported from Turkey, Greece, Italy and Canada.

Russia also witnessed the most devastating fires on record. Reportedly, the fires destroyed over 18.16m hectares of forest in 2021 second largest was in 2012, where almost 18.11m hectares of forest area was burned. Mainly, Taiga forests in Siberia and the Russian Far East witnessed unprecedented wildfires in 2021. Siberia reported more than 170 fires that charred over 20 thousand square kilometres of forest cover. The fires were so bad that the smoke plumes even reached the North Pole.

The year was the worst wildfire season in memory for the US. In 2021, more than 57,000 large wildfires engulfed parts of the US. Among all, the Dixie fire of northern California is regarded as the largest. It started in July and was only 100% contained by October, thus burning over 9,63,309 acres of land. Along its path, the raging fire severely damaged small towns like Greenville and Canyondam.

Ferocious floods

Several parts of the globe like Turkey, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Malaysia witnessed severe deluge in 2021.

China—the world’s most populous country—faced the wrath of one of the worst floods in July 2021, triggered by the heaviest downpour in 1,000 years. More than 300 people were killed, while more than 1.5 million were affected due to excessive rains and flooding. About 250,000 hectares of crops were destroyed with an estimated cost of $14 billion. China’s central Henan province was highly impacted.

North Africa’s South Sudan was inundated with the worst flooding episode in May. It impacted 835,000 individuals across eight states of the landlocked country, while 200,000 had to leave their homes. The United Nations described the flooding as the worst in 60 years. In July, devastating floods also upended people’s lives in Germany, Belgium, and Austria. The deluge has reportedly claimed more than 242 lives, with the highest toll in Germany at 196. The total damage cost is estimated at around $11.8 billion.

Parts of India reported excessive flooding incidents over different time frames in 2021. In February, an avalanche in Chamoli in the hilly state of Uttarakhand triggered flash floods, killing more than 80 people. Overall, Uttarakhand alone witnessed a total of 298 deaths due to several weather-related disasters in 2021—making it the second-worst year in terms of weather-related damages after the 2013 Kedarnath floods.

Rains aggressively pounded over Maharashtra during the southwest monsoon, claiming 209 lives. Besides, heavy rains also led to flooding, cloudburst, and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the monsoon months. In the post-monsoon season, repeated flood-related disasters struck parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Devastating storms

Tauktae, an Arabian sea storm, was the year’s first cyclone over the North Indian Ocean. It drenched the west coast of India, including parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, in May. Dubbed as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, it claimed the lives of over 174 people and caused damage of around $2.12 billion.

In the same month, Cyclone Yaas brewed in the Bay of Bengal, dumping heavy rains across West Bengal and Odisha. Altogether, the economic loss due to this storm was estimated at around Rs 600 crores. In addition, cyclones Gulaab, Shaheen, and Jawad impacted parts of India this year.

At the end of August, an Atlantic hurricane of Category 4 battered parts of Louisiana, United States. The hurricane, named Ida, had been the second-most damaging and intense hurricane after Katrina in 2005. It claimed the lives of over 100 individuals in the US state. Reports estimate that this was the second-costliest hurricane since 2000, with the damage worth 95 billion.

The 15th typhoon to hit parts of the Philippines was also the first category-5 storm this year. In December, it made landfall on Siargao Island, killing over 400 people and affecting millions.