2024 was the warmest since 1901, says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday said 2024 was the warmest year on record in India since 1901.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the annual mean land surface air temperature across India in 2024 was 0.65 degrees Celsius above the long-term average. Long period average is the weather pattern recorded over a particular region for a given interval like 30 years.

“The annual mean temperature in 2024 was 25.75 degrees Celsius, 0.65 degrees above the long-period average, making it the highest recorded since 1901. The average maximum temperature stood at 31.25 degrees Celsius, 0.20 degrees above normal, the fourth-highest since 1901,” Mohapatra said.

The Met Department projected that minimum temperatures across most of India are forecast to be higher than usual in January, with exceptions in parts of eastern, northwest, and west-central regions.

Maximum temperatures are also expected to exceed normal levels for much of the country, except for certain areas in northwest, central, and eastern India, along with central southern peninsular regions.

However, the western and northern parts of central India are likely to experience more cold wave days than usual in January. A cold wave declared if the minimum temperature is less than 10 degree Celsius.

The rainfall in January is likely to be above normal. The average rainfall recorded in January is 49 mm.

The IMD also predicted that rainfall in northern India between January and March will likely be below average. The average rainfall for this period is about 184.3 mm.

Mohapatra highlighted that the rise in minimum temperatures in 2024 was high.