The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday (January 4) said that 2020 was the eighth warmest year on record since 1901 but it was "substantially lower" than the warmest year 2016. According to IMD, the five warmest years on record in order were 2016, 2009, 2017, 2010 and 2015.


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“The country averaged annual mean temperature during 1901-2020 showed an increasing trend of 0.62 °C /100 years with a significant increasing trend in maximum temperature (0.99 °C /100 years) and relatively lower increasing trend (0.24 °C /100 years) in minimum temperature,” the IMD stated.


“During the year 2020, annual mean land surface air temperature averaged over the country was 0.29 degree Celsius above normal (based on the data of 1981-2010). The year 2020 was the eighth warmest year on record since nation-wide records commenced in 1901. However, this is substantially lower than the highest warming observed over India during 2016 (plus 0.71 degree Celsius),” it added.


According to IMD, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh witnessed maximum number of deaths due to adverse weather conditions with over 350 deaths taking place in each state due to thunderstorm, lightning and cold wave events.


Around 815 were killed due to thunderstorms and lightning across the country, out of which 280 were from Bihar, 220 from Uttar Pradesh, 122 from Jharkhand, 72 from Madhya Pradesh, 23 from Maharashtra and 20 from Andhra Pradesh.


Cold wave conditions led to the deaths of about 150 people, including 88 in Uttar Pradesh and 45 in Bihar only on a single day on January 1.