India, Sept. 22 -- Northwest India, including Punjab and Haryana, has emerged as the country's heat epicentre, recording the strongest rising trends in daytime heat, humid heat and heatwave severity, according to a 52-year study published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Climatology.

The study, Evolution of Climate Extremes Over the Indian Subcontinent Using a Revised CEI, analysed weather observations from 1971 to 2022 and examined seven climate hazards. Conducted by scientists from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), it lists Dr M Rajeevan, former secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, among its co-authors.

The study found that n...