Silentbram at 13:16, 14 November 2025

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{{Short description|2022 heat wave in India and Pakistan}}
{{Infobox heat event
| title = 2022 India{{endash}}Pakistan heat wave
| thermal_map = Heatwave across India ESA24052285.jpeg
| thermal_map_caption =
| start_date = {{start date|df=yes|2022|03}}
| end_date = June 2022
| fatalities = 90
| areas = [[India]], [[Pakistan]]
| type = [[Heat wave]]
}}
The '''2022 India–Pakistan heat wave''' was an [[Extreme weather|extreme weather event]] which resulted in the hottest March in [[the subcontinent]] since 1901. The hot season arrived unusually early in the year and extended into April, affecting a large part of India's northwest and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saaliq |first1=Sheikh |title=India's northwest reels under unusual early heat wave |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/indias-northwest-reels-unusual-early-heat-wave-84010505 |access-date=April 26, 2022 |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |date=April 11, 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426165630/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/indias-northwest-reels-unusual-early-heat-wave-84010505 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Saphora |title=India's heatwave compared to start of climate disaster novel |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/heat-wave-india-climate-fiction-b2065039.html |access-date=April 26, 2022 |work=The Independent |date=April 26, 2022 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425211408/http://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/heat-wave-india-climate-fiction-b2065039.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The heatwave was combined with a drought, with only a quarter to a third of the normal rainfall. It occurred during a [[La Niña]] event, in which heat records are generally less likely.<ref name=will>{{cite news |last1=Vaughan |first1=Adam |date=April 26, 2022 |title=Severe Indian heatwave will bake a billion people and damage crops |work=New Scientist |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2317372-severe-indian-heatwave-will-bake-a-billion-people-and-damage-crops/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426095405/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2317372-severe-indian-heatwave-will-bake-a-billion-people-and-damage-crops/ |archive-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref>

Several cities across India had high temperatures over {{convert|42.8|C|F|abbr=on}}, with [[Wardha]] rising to {{convert|45|C|F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cappucci |first1=Matthew |title=Record heat has gripped India since March. It's about to get worse. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/25/india-record-heat-march-april/ |access-date=April 26, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 25, 2022 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426142614/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/25/india-record-heat-march-april/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Pakistan]], the city of [[Nawabshah]] recorded a high temperature of {{convert|49.5|C|F|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Chelsea |date=May 3, 2022 |title=Astonishing Heat Grips India and Pakistan |work=[[Scientific American]] |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |agency=[[Environment & Energy Publishing]] |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astonishing-heat-grips-india-and-pakistan/ |access-date=May 10, 2022}}</ref> and [[Jacobabad]] and [[Sibi]] both reached {{convert|47|C|F|abbr=on}}. Pakistan's [[Ministry of Climate Change (Pakistan)|Minister of Climate Change]] [[Sherry Rehman]] described it as a "spring-less year".<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Rhea|last1=Mogul|first2=Esha|last2=Mitra|first3=Manveena|last3=Suri|first4=Sophia|last4=Saifi |title=India and Pakistan heatwave is 'testing the limits of human survivability' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/02/asia/india-pakistan-heatwave-climate-intl-hnk/index.html|date=3 May 2022 |access-date=26 July 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref>

==Severity and significance==
The heat wave broke records for temperature highs in Pakistan and Bangladesh India.<ref name="Scientific American">{{cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Chelsea |title=Astonishing Heat Grips India and Pakistan |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astonishing-heat-grips-india-and-pakistan/ |access-date=5 May 2022 |work=Scientific American |date=3 May 2022}}</ref> The wave has also received attention due to its length.<ref name="Scientific American"/>

== Impacts ==

=== Death Toll ===

Estimates have the death toll of the heatwave at around 90 across India and Pakistan,<ref>{{cite news|title=Climate Change made devastating early heat in India and Pakistan 30 times more likely
|url=https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-made-devastating-early-heat-in-india-and-pakistan-30-times-more-likely/ |access-date=26 October 2025 |work=World Weather Attribution |date=23 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> due to the heat itself as well as the poor harvest and a [[Glacial Lake Outburst Flood]].

=== Impact on agriculture ===
During the [[2022 food crises]], India began taking steps to export more rice and wheat, in part to fill the gaps created by the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhardwaj |first1=Mayank |title=EXCLUSIVE India acts to seize gap in wheat export market left by Ukraine war |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/exclusive-india-acts-seize-gap-wheat-export-market-left-by-ukraine-war-2022-03-15/ |access-date=30 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=16 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> However, the heatwave caused increasing local prices and lower supply, issues also exacerbated by the war increasing fertilizer prices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-20 |title=Explained: How heatwave might thwart India's dream to feed the world |url=https://www.firstpost.com/business/explained-how-heatwave-might-thwart-indias-dream-to-feed-the-world-10576961.html |access-date=2022-04-24 |website=Firstpost |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424150614/https://www.firstpost.com/business/explained-how-heatwave-might-thwart-indias-dream-to-feed-the-world-10576961.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The heatwave occurred mostly during the final weeks of the wheat growing season, killing the plants shortly before harvest.<ref name=will/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kumar |first1=Hari |last2=Ives |first2=Mike |title=The Extreme Heat Pummeling India and Pakistan Is About to Get Worse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/world/asia/india-extreme-heat-wave.html |access-date=30 April 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=28 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428154220/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/world/asia/india-extreme-heat-wave.html/|archive-date=28 April 2022}}</ref>

The heatwave significantly impacted agriculture in India. At the same time early rainfall in India was 71% lower than the norm. In Punjab, the main crop producer in India, 15% of the harvest was lost and in some regions even 30%.<ref name="Mathews">{{cite web |last1=Mathews |first1=Bailee |date=18 July 2022 |title=Climate Change and the Global Food Supply |url=https://www.americansecurityproject.org/climate-change-and-the-global-food-supply/ |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=[[American Security Project]]}}</ref>
The heatwave caused a reverse in policy by Indian government, from trying to import to address the crises, to halting exports.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Diksha Madhok |title=India offered to help fix the global food crisis. Here's why it backtracked |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/17/business/india-wheat-export-ban-food-prices-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html|date=18 May 2022 |access-date=26 July 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref>

The heatwave has also severely impacted peach and apple harvests in [[Balochistan]].<ref name="guardian_2may2022">{{cite news |last1=Ellis-Petersen |first1=Hannah |last2=Meer Baloch |first2=Shah |title='We are living in hell': Pakistan and India suffer extreme spring heatwaves |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/02/pakistan-india-heatwaves-water-electricity-shortages |access-date=12 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=2 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Nature and the environment ===
The heatwave has resulted in [[bird]]s falling from the sky in [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-12 |title=It's so hot in India that birds are falling out of the sky. why falling? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/india-heatwave-2022-birds-dying-b2077352.html |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

===Bridge collapse===
The Hassanabad Bridge in [[Hunza Valley]], Pakistan collapsed after a glacial lake released large amounts of water into a stream caused by the heatwave.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Historic bridge crumbles amid Pakistan floods |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-61392134|date=10 May 2022 |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref>

=== Electricity shortages ===
{{main|Electricity sector in India}}
India faced its worst [[electricity shortage]] in more than six years, and demand due to the heat wave strained the electric grid in the country.<ref name=reuters_powercuts>{{cite news |last1=Varadhan |first1=Sudarshan |title=India sweats over worst power cuts in six years during extreme heat |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-heat-wave-disrupts-industrial-activity-power-demand-soars-2022-04-28/ |access-date=30 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=28 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Scorching temperatures forced early closures of schools and sent people indoors.<ref name=reuters_powercuts/> [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]], and [[Andhra Pradesh]] all reduced power allocated to industry due to an increase in power consumption dedicated to cooling.

The high power demand increased demand for [[coal in India]], which is the main source of electricity generation in the country. The state-run enterprise [[Coal India]] increased its output by 27%. [[Indian Railways]] had to cancel hundreds of passenger trains as an emergency measure to prioritize hauling coal to [[coal power plant]]s to avoid [[Power outage|blackouts]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Varadhan |first=Sudarshan |date=2022-04-29 |title=Power-hungry India halts passenger trains to free up track to move coal |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/power-hungry-india-halts-passenger-trains-free-up-track-move-coal-2022-04-29/ |access-date=2022-05-03}}</ref> The state also requested that electricity providers imported some 19 million tonnes of coal before the end of June.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Varadhan |first1=Sudarshan |title=India sets end-June coal import targets as power woes mount |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-sets-end-june-coal-import-targets-power-woes-mount-2022-05-03/ |access-date=5 May 2022 |work=Reuters |date=3 May 2022}}</ref>

On Friday, 29 April 2022, demand for electricity reached 207 [[gigawatts]], an all-time high in India, representing an increase of two gigawatts of demand over the previous day.<ref name="guardian_2may2022"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Sarita C. |title=Power demand spikes to all-time high of 207 GW |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/power/power-demand-spikes-to-all-time-high-of-207-gw/articleshow/91195659.cms |access-date=12 May 2022 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=30 April 2022}}</ref>

==Causes==
{{Further|Climate change in South Asia}}{{expand section|date=May 2022}}
A real-time [[extreme event attribution]] study by the [[World Weather Attribution]] project showed that the heat wave was made 30 times more likely due to climate change.<ref>{{cite press release |date=May 26, 2022 |first1=Lottie |last1=Butler |first2=Siobhan |last2=Stack-Maddox |title=Climate change made deadly heatwave in India and Pakistan 30 times more likely |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/236696/climate-change-made-deadly-heatwave-india/ |publisher=Imperial College London |access-date=2022-11-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Aniruddha |last=Ghosal |date=May 24, 2022 |title=South Asia's intense heat wave a 'sign of things to come' |url=https://apnews.com/article/climate-science-politics-pakistan-a015aa2a05a1a433afde43414e3d16b4 |access-date=2022-11-25 |work=[[AP NEWS]] |language=en}}</ref>

The occurrence of the heatwave was consistent with underlying [[climate change in Pakistan]] and [[climate change in India|in India]].<ref>{{Cite press release |date=2022-04-29 |title=Successive heatwaves in India and Pakistan highlight role of early warnings |url=https://public-old.wmo.int/en/media/news/climate-change-made-heatwaves-india-and-pakistan-30-times-more-likely |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218173521/https://public-old.wmo.int/en/media/news/climate-change-made-heatwaves-india-and-pakistan-30-times-more-likely |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 18, 2023 |access-date=2022-05-17 |publisher=[[World Meteorological Organization]] |language=en}}</ref> Indian scientists said that the major proximate cause was "weak western disturbances – storms originating in the Mediterranean region – which meant little pre-monsoon rainfall in north-western and central India".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-16 |first1=Sharanya |last1=Hrishikesh |first2=Meryl |last2=Sebastian |title=Delhi suffers at 49C as heatwave sweeps India |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61242341 |access-date=2022-05-17}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Heat waves of 2022]]
*[[2022 South Asian floods]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Heat wave|state=autocollapse}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heat wave in India and Pakistan, 2022}}
[[Category:2022 disasters in India|Heat wave]]
[[Category:2022 disasters in Pakistan|Heat wave]]
[[Category:2022 heat waves]]
[[Category:Heat waves in India|2022]]
[[Category:Heat waves in Pakistan|2022]]
[[Category:March 2022 in India]]
[[Category:March 2022 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:April 2022 in India]]
[[Category:April 2022 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:May 2022 in India]]
[[Category:May 2022 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:June 2022 in India]]
[[Category:June 2022 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Climate change in India]]
[[Category:Climate change in Pakistan]]

2022 India Pakistan heat wave - Revision history

Silentbram at 13:16, 14 November 2025