2020 was the eighth warmest year in India since 1901: IMD

The Climate Research and Services (CRS) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Statement on Climate of India during 2020. As per the statement, the year 2020 was the eighth warmest year in India since nation-wide records commenced in 1901. During the year, annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over the country was +0.29⁰C above normal (based on the data of 1981-2010).

Graph of Mean Annual Temperature of India Year-wise — Source IMD Statement

The Five Warmest Years in India

The five warmest years on record in order were:

2016 (+0.71⁰C)
2009 (+0.55⁰C)
2017 (+0.541⁰C)
2010 (+0.539⁰C)
2015 (+0.42⁰C)

However, it may be mentioned that 12 out of 15 warmest years were during the recent fifteen years (2006-2020). The country averaged annual mean temperature during 1901-2020 showed an increasing trend of 0.620C/100 years (above figure) with significant increasing trend in maximum temperature (0.990C/100 years) and relatively lower increasing trend (0.240C/100 years) in minimum temperature.

Tropical Storms in the Indian Seas

During 2020, 5 cyclones formed over the North Indian Ocean. Super cyclonic Storm AMPHAN, Very Severe Cyclonic Storms NIVAR & GATI, Severe Cyclonic Storm NISARGA, and Cyclonic Storm ‘BUREVI’. Of these, NISARGA & GATI formed over Arabian Sea, while the remaining 3 cyclones viz. AMPHAN, NIVAR & BUREVI formed over the Bay of Bengal.

High Impact Weather Events

The country also experienced other high impact weather events like, extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslide, thunderstorm, lightning, cold waves, etc.