Climate change: Weather department warns winter could be colder this season — here’s why

The Director-General of India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mrutunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday that winter could be colder this season. He stated that this could be due to the prevalent ‘La Nina’ conditions.

Contrary to the belief that climate change only leads to a rise in temperatures, Mohapatra told PTI that it can also lead to erratic weather.

Mohapatra said that due to the weak La Nina conditions that are prevailing, more cold can be expected this year.

If one considers the large scale factor for the occurrence of cold wave conditions, then El Nino and La Nina conditions must be factored in to play a dominant role in it, he stated.

He also added that La Nina conditions favour cold wave conditions, while El Nino conditions are unfavourable for it.

Among the states that bear the brunt of cold wave are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and Mohapatra stated that it is these states that see the most deaths due to cold.

Every year in the month of November, the Indian weather department releases a winter forecast predicting the severity of the winter season that prevails between December to February.

What are La Nina and El Nino?

La Nina (meaning ‘little girl’ in Spanish) is linked with the cooling of the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The El Nino (meaning ‘little boy’ in Spanish) on the other side is linked to the heating of the Pacific waters. Both these phenomena are believed to have a major impact on the Indian monsoon.

It was due to these conditions that 2020 witnessed approximately 9% rainfall over the normal monsoon.

The country had also experienced long spells of bitter cold waves during the last winter season.