Extreme weather claimed 1,750 lives in India in 2021

New Delhi: India saw 1,750 deaths due to extreme weather events in 2021, with Maharashtra being the worst-affected state with 350 fatalities, followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Thunderstorms and lightning reportedly claimed 787 lives in India last year, while 759 people died in heavy rainfall and flood-related incidents, it said.

Cyclonic storms claimed 172 lives and 32 others died due to other extreme weather events, according to the IMD's annual climate statement.

Heavy rainfall and flood related-incidents claimed 215 lives in Maharashtra, 143 in Uttarakhand, 55 in Himachal Pradesh, 53 in Kerala and 46 in Andhra Pradesh, according to the report.

Thunderstorms and lightning claimed 213 lives in Odisha, 156 in Madhya Pradesh, 89 in Bihar, 76 in Maharashtra, 58 in West Bengal, 54 in Jharkhand, 49 in Uttar Pradesh and 48 in Rajasthan.

The Met Department said 223 people died due to extreme weather events in Odisha, 191 in Madhya Pradesh, 147 in Uttarakhand, 102 in Bihar, 98 in Uttar Pradesh, 92 in Gujarat and 86 in West Bengal.

Sixty-seven died in Kerala, 62 in Rajasthan, 59 in Himachal Pradesh, 57 in Jharkhand, 50 in Andhra Pradesh, 45 in Karnataka, 34 in Tamil Nadu, 32 in Jammu and Kashmir, 25 in Telangana and 14 in Assam.

Of the seven deaths recorded in Delhi due to extreme weather events, four occurred because of heavy rainfall and flooding, the IMD data showed.

Meanwhile, the IMD said that the year 2021 was the fifth warmest in India since 1901, with the country recording its annual mean surface air temperature at 0.44 degree Celsius above normal.

"The year 2021 was the fifth warmest year after 2016, 2009, 2017 and 2010 since 1901. The annual mean air temperature for the country was recorded at 0.44 degree Celsius above normal," the MeT department's annual climate statement stated.

"The winter (January to February) and post-monsoon (October to December) seasons with all India mean temperature anomalies of 0.78 degree Celsius and 0.42 degree Celsius respectively mainly contributed to this warming," it said.

In 2016, the annual mean surface air temperature for the country was 0.710 degree Celsius above normal. It was 0.550 degree Celsius and 0.541 degree Celsius above the average temperature in 2009 and 2017, respectively. In 2010, the mean annual air temperature stood 0.539 degree Celsius above normal, it said.