Climate change could make monsoons as dangerous as summers for heat stress

INDIA’S struggle with extreme heat may soon extend well beyond the traditional summer months, with new research indicating that dangerous heat-stress conditions are rapidly emerging during the monsoon season and could affect more than half the country under future warming scenarios.

- USHA PERI @ Visakhapatnam

A study by researchers Dipesh Singh Chuphal, Qingin Kong, Matthew Huber and Vimal Mishra has found that while uncompensable heat stress (UHS) is currently concentrated in the summer season, climate change is expected to drive a sharp rise in hot and humid conditions during the monsoon months, creating a prolonged period of heat-related risk for millions of people.

Uncompensable heat stress refers to environmental conditions in which the human body can no longer effectively cool itself, even through sweating. When heat and humidity combine beyond certain physiological limits, the body’s core temperature continues to rise, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, organ failure and death.

The study, titled ‘Emergence of Uncompensable Heat Stress During Monsoon Season in India,’ examined observational data from 1979 to 2021, along with future climate projections. The researchers found that the frequency and geographical extent of UHS have increased significantly across India over the past four decades. Between March and June, about 8 per cent of India’s land area experienced uncompensable heat stress during the study period. In contrast, only around 1 per cent of the country faced similar conditions during the monsoon season from July to October.