Statement on climate of India during 2022

January 11, 2023

In 2022, the annual mean land surface air temperature in India was 0.510C above the long-term average (1981-2010 period). This made the year the fifth warmest on record since nationwide records began in 1901. Despite this, it was lower than the highest warming observed over India during 2016, which had an anomaly of 0.710C, but higher than the previous year, 2021, which had an anomaly of 0.440C.

Temperature Analysis

The all-India mean temperatures during the winter season (January to February) were normal, with an anomaly of -0.04°C. However, during other seasons, the temperatures were above normal. The pre-monsoon season (March to May) had an anomaly of ±1.06°C, the monsoon season (June to September) had an anomaly of +0.36°C and the post-monsoon season (October to December) had an anomaly of +0.52°C.

Global Temperature

Global mean temperature in 2022 is currently estimated to be 1.15 ± 0.13 °C above the preindustrial (1850-1900) average. This is likely to make the past eight years (2015-2022) the warmest on record. Despite La Niña conditions keeping global temperature low for the second consecutive year, 2022 is still most likely to be the 5th or 6th warmest year on record.

Rainfall Analysis

The rainfall over India in 2022 was 108% of its Long Period Average (LPA) value based on the period 1971-2020. During the winter season, the rainfall was 147% of its LPA, pre-monsoon season rainfall was 99% of its LPA, the southwest monsoon season had rainfall 106 % of its LPA, and the post-monsoon season had rainfall 119% of its LPA.

Extreme Weather Events

During 2022, 15 cyclonic disturbances formed over the north Indian Ocean, against the normal of 11.2 based on data from 1965-2021. It included three cyclones, seven depressions formed over the Bay of Bengal, three depressions over the Arabian Sea, and two land depressions. In addition to these, extreme weather events like extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslides, lightning, thunderstorms, droughts etc were also experienced in various parts of the country.

Overall, India witnessed an above-average temperature and above-average rainfall in the year 2022. The year 2022 witnessed cyclonic disturbances and extreme weather events which were above the average count, as well as the effect of global warming.

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