Labourers sleep on the roadside during an early hot summer morning in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan port city Karachi and some other parts of the country continued to experience heatwave these days. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The world experienced an average of 26 more days of extreme heat over the last 12 months that would probably not have occurred without climate change, a report said on May 28.

Heat is the leading cause of climate-related death and the report further points to the role of global warming in increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather around the world.

For this study, scientists used the years 1991 to 2020 to determine what temperatures counted as within the top 10 per cent for each country over that period.

Next, they looked at the 12 months to May 15, 2024, to establish how many days over that period experienced temperatures within — or beyond — the previous range.

Then, using peer-reviewed methods, they examined the influence of climate change on each of these excessively hot days.

They concluded that “human-caused climate change added — on average, across all places in the world — 26 more days of extreme heat than there would have been without it”.

The report was published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the World Weather Attribution scientific network and the nonprofit research organisation Climate Central.

2023 was the hottest year on record, according to the European Union’s climate monitor, Copernicus.

Already this year, extreme heatwaves have afflicted swathes of the globe from Mexico to Pakistan.

The report said that in the last 12 months, some 6.3 billion people — roughly 80% of the global population — experienced at least 31 days of what is classed as extreme heat.

In total, 76 extreme heatwaves were registered in 90 different countries on every continent except Antarctica.

Five of the most affected nations were in Latin America.

The report said that without the influence of climate change, Suriname would have recorded an estimated 24 extreme heat days instead of 182; Ecuador 10 not 180; Guyana 33 not 174, El Salvador 15 not 163; and Panama 12 not 149.

“[Extreme heat] is known to have killed tens of thousands of people over the last 12 months but the real number is likely in the hundreds of thousands or even millions,” the Red Cross said in a statement.

“Flooding and hurricanes may capture the headlines but the impacts of extreme heat are equally deadly,” said Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of the Red Cross.

Photo used for representation purpose only. A surge in cereal prices at a 12-month high enabled wholesale price inflation rise to a three-month high in March
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

India’s wholesale price inflation rose to a three-month high of 0.53% in March from 0.2% in February, with the food index rising 4.65%, primarily led by cereals prices surging at a 12-month high pace even as the inflation in paddy (11.7%), potato (53%) and onions (57%) accelerated.

Inflation in pulses and vegetables remained elevated at the wholesale level, at 17.2% and 19.5%, respectively, as per the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Fuel and power as well as manufactured products continued to be in deflation mode, though the level of price declines from a year ago moderated to about 0.8% in March.

On a month-on-month basis, the WPI rose 0.4% — the first such uptick in four months, with the food index up 1.01% and primary articles rising 0.9%. Manufactured products and fuel and power categories were up 0.21% and 0.06%, respectively. The Commerce and Industry Ministry also revised the WPI for January 2024, raising the inflation rate for that month to 0.33% from 0.27% estimated earlier.

Within food articles, there was some relief at the wholesale level from eggs, meat and fish, whose prices slid 1.86%. This is in contrast to retail prices which rose more than 10% for eggs, and over 6% for meat and fish, last month. Milk inflation eased to 4.7% in March, from 5.5% in February, but wheat price rise almost trebled from 2.34% in February to 7.43% last month.

“Positive rate of inflation in March, 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, electricity, crude petroleum & natural gas, machinery & equipment and other manufacturing, etc.” the ministry said in a statement.

For the full year 2023-24, wholesale prices remained in deflationary mode, averaging -0.7%, the lowest pace of price rise since 2015-16, said Sunil Kumar Sinha, senior director and principal economist and Paras Jasrai, senior analyst at India Ratings and Research. “While wholesale inflation in the fourth quarter averaged a one-year high of 0.4%, it was still good enough to provide succor to the corporates by keeping the input prices at moderate levels,” they noted. 

However, with the flare up between Iran and Israel, and the rise in crude oil prices beyond $90 a barrel, the firm expects the first quarter of 2024-25 to see an average rise of 2.4% in wholesale prices.

“International commodity prices are showing signs of increased pressure. Going ahead, continued escalation in international crude oil prices, heat wave conditions impacting electricity demand and vegetable inflation, remain key causes of concern,” said Bank of Baroda economist Sonal Badhan.