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The World
Topic:Heatwaves
Wed 3 Jun 2026 at 1:41am
Temperatures have soared across India during an earlier than normal heatwave. (AP Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Temperatures in India have soared above 45 degrees, sending power usage to record levels as people try to stay cool.
The deadly heatwave has also forced schools to close, people to take days off work, and farmers to work at night.
The United Nations has warned the world to prepare for an El Niño this year, which could worsen drought and heatwaves in some areas and bring heavy rainfall in others.
Temperatures have soared well above 45 degrees Celsius in parts of India as the unseasonal heatwave disrupts daily life and claims lives.
Afternoon markets have emptied, farmers are working at night, and some schools have closed, with the weather too hot for people to function normally.
But the United Nations has now warned the rest of the world, including Australia, to prepare for a moderate-to-strong El Niño this year, which would make some weather and climate extremes more likely.
The World Meteorological Organization believes the likelihood of El Niño developing by November is "near or above 90 per cent" and that it is expected to be "at least moderate and possibly strong".
"The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is," UN chief Antonio Guterres said.
People cool off at a public swimming pool amid a heatwave in New Delhi. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
While India is no stranger to heat waves, Dr Soumya Swaminathan told ABC's The World that extreme temperatures recorded across many parts of the country since April began "quite early" and that it's been so hot and humid that even the nights have not cooled down.
"Clearly, the trend over the last few years is that every year we've reached higher temperatures, the heat has been more prolonged and over larger parts of the country," she said.
"The urban areas, the cities even, are facing the brunt even more.
The former World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist said she believed heat-related deaths had been under-reported in India because it was not easy to diagnose, especially if the person died at home or outside a health facility.
Soumya Swaminathan says there is a need for a national approach and more solutions to heatwaves in India. (By Fabrice Coffrini)
But Dr Swaminathan said heat-related deaths were also just the "tip of the iceberg" of this heatwave's impact.
"[Hot weather] affects a much larger base of ill health, of people not being able to perform, of people not being able to work," she said.
"We also know that women face a disproportionate burden of heat, that domestic violence, for example, goes up during the hottest days of the summer, and they also suffer a lot of physical, reproductive health and mental health disorders.
"It has an impact on the social fabric, on communities, on productivity and on the economy.
"When it gets really, really bad, they give up a day's labour, they give up a day's wages essentially because they just can't go to work."
She said there was a "need for solutions", with few people having access to air conditioning and other ways to cool down.
A cycle rickshaw puller drinks water on a hot day in Old Delhi. (Reuters: Anushree Fadnavis)
Dr Swaminathan said the forecast El Niño was "adding to the uncertainty" in India around "the fear of sub-adequate monsoon and perhaps drought" in some parts of the country.
India has forecast an El Niño-weakened monsoon this year that will bring the lowest rainfall in 11 years, fuelling concerns over crops, food prices and growth in the world's fifth-largest economy.
Indian girls use a scarf to protect themselves on a hot day in Jammu. (AP: Channi Anand)
El Niño is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which typically lasts between nine and 12 months, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
It is predicted to increase rainfall in Central Asia, the southern parts of South America, the United States, and parts of the Horn of Africa, cause drought in Australia, Indonesia, parts of Asia, and Central America, and trigger hurricane formation in the central and eastern Pacific.
WMO chief Celeste Saulo said the world needed to prepare for the El Niño.
It was Peruvian fishermen, hundreds of years ago, who first noticed and named El Niño. Little did they realise they had named one of the most consequential climate drivers on Earth. This is how it works.
While the last El Niño contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high, more than 1 degree above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the WMO said there was no evidence that climate change increased the frequency or intensity of El Niño events.
"El Niño is arriving on our doorstep," Mr Guterres said in a video message.
"The only effective response is climate action equal to the crisis — ending the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for all."
The WMO said it hoped the warning would help countries prepare, especially in climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water management, energy, and health.
Wed 3 Jun 2026 at 1:41am
Wed 3 Jun 2026 at 8:53am
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