HOTTEST MONTH IN CENTURY (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: August was not just the driest since 1901 (in a century), but was also the hottest ever recorded in India, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Key Points

• August recorded high temperatures (maximum and mean) primarily due to subdued monsoon activity over a significant portion of the country.
• Reduced rainfall led to decreased cloud cover, allowing temperatures to rise.
• This phenomenon is indicative of climate change, as several recent months have set temperature records.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the trend of expecting record temperatures in the future in its Physical Science Basis report.
• Central India, especially, was hit hard.
• Negative Indian Ocean Dipole over the tropical Indian Ocean, a phenomenon where the western Indian ocean becomes colder than the eastern one, and which is unfavourable for monsoon prevailed throughout August, contributing to deficient rainfall. 
• There were also fewer typhoons in the West Pacific and so there was an absence of westward movement of their remnants into Bay of Bengal. This led to fewer low-pressure systems forming over Bay of Bengal.