Rethinking the narrative of the end of the world – Watt?

Vijay Jayaraj

Ten years ago, I was able to escape a horrible flood and killed more than 500 people in the southern Indian city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras). The bus barely managed to avoid slowly rising water, but ruthlessly swallowed the road.

My escape was only possible because I was tracking the movement of the whirlwind that brought the flood. Floods are not uncommon. Chennai, once known for its Madras name, has been the most popular in the 1960s and has since been notorious for frequent flooding.

In other articles, I have analyzed how recent floods in Chennai are attributed to global warming in anthropology, but suggested by some, but rather cause poor urban planning, resulting in insufficient rainwater drainage and construction in areas where natural water reserved.

Chennai is notorious for other things: the heat of summer. Recently, mainstream media portrayed the city's extreme temperatures as a sign of a climate crisis. However, readings from the temperature station near my former Chennai residence revealed this claim.

The records of the Meenambakkam Meteorological Station (MWS) in Chennai date back to 1855, challenging the apocalyptic narrative of so-called out-of-control global warming-dominated headlines. The data reveal a more nuanced story of moderate rises in average annual temperatures over the past 170 years, a period that includes a record high setting in the 19th century – modern warming trends attributed to asphalt and jet engines, rather than carbon dioxide.

Since the age of 19^Th In the century, the annual average temperature measured by MWS increased by less than half the Celsius – the tortoise-like speed per cent was 0.294 Celsius. This is part of Hadcrut's global model of 0.65 degrees per cent per cent, and is often considered evidence of dangerous planets. Even more shockingly, the hottest day in this long record did not happen in fossil fuels 21^Yingshi Or 20^Th centuries, but in May 1892.

This fact alone should pause those who portray Chennai (or most metropolitan cities) as buckling under unprecedented heat driven by global warming.

It is also worth noting that the impact of urban heat island effect (UHI), a phenomenon shared by the entire densely populated city in India. The city captures heat in the concrete jungle, artificially raising local temperatures, and the airport has a large number of sidewalks and jet exhausts.

Chennai City is no exception. MWS is located just 300 meters from the Chennai International Airport runway.

Prior to the 1950s, the airport was a sleepy post that handled a small number of flights a day. By the 1980s, it had begun to rise, and it was a hub connecting Europe, Asia and beyond Europe. Traffic emerged in the 2000s. Today, this is the most airport in India, radiating heat only from the Chennai weather station sensors.

The station's reading volume has been consistent with the growth of the airport since the 1980s. Before the injection age, the temperature rise was very slow, but accelerated after the 1980s. coincide? Maybe maybe not. However, it seems that warming, which is mostly known as Chennai’s “climate change” product, may reflect a modest shift in the airplane runway to an international portal.

Furthermore, the winter warming of MWS is almost negligible, registering only 0.09°Celsius per century. If global warming is the main force, we expect more unified growth throughout the season. Instead, the data points to local seasonal skews.

The highest recorded temperature in Chennai occurred in 1892, long before the modern era of industrialization and urbanization, which is a powerful reminder that extreme weather events are not a recent phenomenon. This record, set during the British colonial period, predated the widespread use of fossil fuels and subsequent rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

This reminds that climate discourse should adopt an evidence-based approach to acknowledge the important role of local environmental factors, leading to temperature trends.

The comment was originally Bizpac Review March 28, 2025.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Science and Research Assistant company₂ allianceArlington, Virginia. he He holds a Master of Environmental Science from the University of East Anglia and a Bachelor of Science in Energy Management from Robert Gordon University in the UK, and a Bachelor of Engineering from Anna University in India.

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