A heavy heat wave that has hit India and Pakistan is causing real concern in the two giant populations which are among the most populous in the world and may have a wider global impact. The average temperatures measured in the last month in these countries – 35.9-37.78, are the highest measured in the last 122 years, since the registration of temperatures in the country began.
In the past month, the city of New Delhi has experienced seven consecutive days in which more than 40 degrees have been measured and in Pakistan 47-degree highs have been measured in several cities. The heavy heat led to the closure of schools, severe damage to agriculture and difficulties in the supply of electricity.
Experts estimate that temperatures will stabilize in the coming days and return to average temperatures during the season.
India and Pakistan are home to more than 1.5 billion people and climate damage in these countries can cause severe difficulties in local agriculture and food shortages that can lead to rising prices worldwide due to the need to import wheat from other countries due to severe wheat crop damage in India.
It is estimated that India has lost about 10-50% of the wheat crop of the coming year and apart from its difficulty in supplying domestic consumption, this is another blow to the global wheat market which suffered a severe blow with the war in Ukraine which was a significant part of global wheat imports.