Comparative analysis of machine learning approaches for heatwave event prediction in India

Heatwaves, are identified as prolonged durations of unusually high temperatures, which pose significant threats to human health, animal health and agriculture. With the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves driven by climate change, accurate and early prediction of these extreme weather events is crucial for effective mitigation and adaptation. This research paper conducts a comparative analysis of various machine learning models for heatwave event classification using a time series dataset from a weather station in the equatorial region of India, specifically Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The study evaluates the performance of models including Random Forest, Convolutional Neural Networks, LightGBM, Long Short-Term Memory Networks, Transformer Networks, Support Vector Machines, Graph Neural Networks, Extreme Gradient Boosting and Autoencoders for Anomaly Detection in heatwave. The challenges posed by class imbalance and the limitations of traditional oversampling techniques are discussed, with insights into effective strategies for improving prediction accuracy. Accurate prediction of heatwaves enables mitigation plans to protect humans, animal and plants.