Pathanamthitta: The latest report by the Institute For Climate Change Studies has sounded an alarm that Kerala is fast becoming the heat capital of India. 

The report, released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the State Science Congress in Thrissur, reveals a significant rise in the state’s average temperature over the past decade. Over the past ten years, the most alarming increase was recorded in April, with temperatures soaring by 1.85 degrees Celsius.

The study, prepared in association with the India Meteorological Department, further highlights a concerning upward trend in Kerala’s annual average temperature over the past 124 years. It has now risen by 0.99 degrees Celsius, an ominous sign for the future. Notably, 2024 has been identified as the hottest year in the state’s recorded history.

A decade-long analysis shows a steady escalation as the average temperature, which stood at 0.77 degrees Celsius in 2016 and 0.76 degrees Celsius in 2023, jumped sharply to 0.99 degrees Celsius in 2024. The report, compiled by the Kottayam-based institute under the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, also warns that temperature increases are observed in Kerala across all seasons.

Even winter has not been spared, with a recorded rise of 1.17 degree Celsius. December 2024 marked the hottest winter in Kerala’s history. The report attributes the unusually warm temperatures in December 2024 and January 2025 to a sharp increase in the state’s lowest recorded temperatures. In January alone, the minimum temperature saw a staggering rise of 1.71 degree Celsius. The seasonal temperature spike recorded for the summer was 1.13 degree Celsius, while that for the monsoon was 0.95 degree Celsius. The post-monsoon periods, meanwhile, have recorded a 0.81 degree Celsius rise

Of the ten hottest years in Kerala’s history, nine have occurred between 2015 and 2024. A century-long ratio analysis (Amshabandha Kanakku) of Kerala’s highest and lowest temperatures further supports this trend, indicating an overall temperature rise of 1.15 degree Celsius over the past 100 years.

Experts warn that if the gap between the highest and lowest temperatures exceeds 10 degree Celsius, the region could face severe drought conditions in the future. The weakening of the monsoon in central Kerala, coupled with increasingly intense summer rains, is likely a direct consequence of rising temperatures. The report also notes a decline in rainfall volume, with the Southwest Monsoon decreasing by 12.4 per cent and the Northeast Monsoon by 5.4 per cent over the past century.