Context

• EnviStats India 2020 report was recently released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Key Findings

• The average number of heat wave days in 2019 rose by 82.6 per cent year-on-year to 157.
• The report showed that the highest number of heat wave days were recorded in Rajasthan with 20 days, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with 13 days each.
• The report defines a heat wave as a “prolonged period of excessive heat, often combined with excessive humidity.”
• The data also showed that 2019 recorded the third-highest number of heat wave days in the decade after 254 days in 2010 and 189 days in 2012.
• the number of average cold wave days also reported an increase.
• Furthermore, the report said that 3,740 people died from acute respiratory infection the highest in six years. The highest number of these deaths were reported in West Bengal followed by Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.
• Meanwhile, in 2018, among the seven metropolitan cities, particulate matter size less than or equal to 10 µm was the highest in Delhi.