Extreme temperature variations not an impact of Global warming:IMD

New Delhi, Apr 25 (UNI) Unusually cool climes in Delhi in the beginning of March this year and scorching hot conditions in the last week of March and in April are due to the effect of variability of weather rather than due to any impact of global warming, Indian meteorological department says.

International weather experts may attribute extremities in weather to the impact of global warming but the Indian weather department believes otherwise.

''Any abnormal rise in temperature in a particular area is largely due to the occurrence of extreme events like supercyclones there. However, since 1999 India has not experienced any abnormal increase in intensity of a cyclone which could be termed as a supercylone. So the possibility of any unusual rise in mercury in Indian occurring frequently is very dim,''weather office experts say.

''In the absence of any extreme events, the abnormal weather conditions like unusually cool climes in Delhi and North Indian plains in the beginning of March this year comes under the category of natural variability of weather,''they say.

An unusually cool weather was witnessed in Delhi in the last week of February and the beginning of March with Delhiites experiencing cool and wet conditions even in days leading to the Holi festival, which usually heralds the arrival of Summer season.

Then, in the last week of March and for almost the whole of April, Delhi experienced scorching weather conditions, usually seen in the last week of May or in June.

While stating that they were constantly monitoring these extremities in weather for any possible trends, the weather office neverthless ruled out any influence of Global warming in these temperature fluctuations.

''If we see the temperatures over the last 100 years, we will find that the temperatures fluctuations are to the order of only four to five degree C. This can hardly be termed as an affect of global warming,''they said.

UNI AR PA BST1454