Hyderabad: Indians will face heat waves more frequently in the coming years, thanks to climate change, experts have claimed.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, at Pune, have published a study in which they claim there will be an increase in occurrences of heat waves in India caused by warming of the Pacific and the Indian oceans.

While increase in sea surface temperatures in Indian and Pacific oceans generally cause an increase in heat waves across the country, IITM researchers found that warming of the Indian Ocean particularly, causes a direct rise in heat waves over the north of India. Meanwhile, the warming of the Pacific Ocean, associated with El Nino, is main reason behind increasing heat waves over the south-east of India, which include Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The warm winds surrounding heated regions of Indian and Pacific oceans cause various weather anomalies, including the creation of a high pressure zone, by the time they reach the country’s coast and do not allow sea breeze to enter the peninsula.

These atmospheric anomalies combined with clear skies and dry soil during the summer, cause heat waves, the study said.