India needs action plan to beat the heat
SEVERE heatwave conditions are prevailing in northwest and central India, the western Himalayan region and Maharashtra. The mercury crossed 50°C in Haryana’s Sirsa and Rajasthan’s Churu on Tuesday. Most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi-NCR are experiencing day-time temperatures above 45°C.
Looking at extreme heat as something that only the IMD or the health sector needs to handle is not going to help.
Hospitals are reporting a rise in heat-related illnesses in many states, with some regions also reporting deaths due to heatstroke. Film star Shah Rukh Khan was admitted to an Ahmedabad hospital after he fell ill due to the heat, making it a subject of social media chatter. Besides obvious health impacts, extreme heat is also beginning to hit workforce productivity in many sectors, thus adversely affecting the economy. Therefore, merely issuing advisories asking people to remain indoors and remain hydrated is not enough. We need a comprehensive policy response to heat — which is lacking at present.
To its credit, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been doing a good job with its heat-related forecasts and warnings. On March 1, it released its outlook for seasonal temperatures from March to May, forecasting above-normal temperatures in most parts of the country. The outlook was updated on April 1, giving greater details of the regions likely to experience above-normal temperatures up to June. It warned that “prolonged periods of extreme heat can lead to dehydration and strain infrastructure such as power grids and transportation systems. To address these challenges, it is imperative for the authorities to take proactive measures.” Another agency, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) — which runs the National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health — did its part. It issued an advisory for state health departments on the heatwave.
The NCDC advisory had a section called ‘Heat-related illnesses (HRI) — focused mass gathering/sporting event preparedness.’ The current summer season has coincided with two major country-wide events — the Indian Premier League (IPL), which started on March 22 and ended on May 26; and the polling for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections (April 19 to June 1). The voter turnout in regions experiencing extreme heat was lower than expected. In some instances, candidates on the campaign trail fainted due to the extreme heat. While most of the IPL matches were held in the evening, fans usually started gathering in stadia in the afternoon, when the day temperature peaked, and players had their practice sessions during the day.
Like the advisories for mass gathering events, cities are also supposed to develop and implement heat action plans. Such plans should focus on building awareness of the health risks of heatwaves and heat-related deaths and illnesses, and getting the health system ready to handle heat-related illnesses. All government agencies concerned should coordinate their actions to alert people about predicted extreme temperatures and take measures to reduce heat exposure and promote adaptive measures. Shaded areas and shelters should be developed and the working hours of people engaged in physical labour in the open should be adjusted to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures.
As with the guidelines on mass gatherings, the directive from the central government exists on heat action plans but not many cities and states have developed such plans. This is despite evidence that the action plan implemented in Ahmedabad since 2013 has resulted in a reduction in mortality associated with extreme heat. Telangana and Odisha have also developed heat action plans, but the impact of such plans depends on how effectively they are implemented.
It has also emerged that warming in cities depends on local factors such as the density of population, concentration of concrete structure, tree cover, etc. For several years, scientists have been talking of the ‘urban heat island’ effect to explain greater warming in a particular region of a city than its surroundings. Such heat islands develop in cities due to many factors — the lack of vegetation and water bodies, local industrial activity, dense infrastructure that traps heat and restricts airflow, and release of hot air from large air conditioning systems. In Delhi, for instance, the night temperature in Sitaram Bazar, Connaught Place and Bhikaji Cama Place is several notches higher than surrounding areas, turning them into heat islands.
A recent study by researchers from IIT-Bhubaneswar, based on data from 141 Indian cities, has reported that the warming experienced in the city is almost double that experienced across the entire Indian landmass. Cities in the northwestern, northeastern and southern regions have seen a more pronounced increase in the night-time land surface temperature than cities in other parts of the country. Studies at IIT-Gandhinagar had warned that the urban heat island effect, driven by rapid urbanisation, could worsen extreme heat conditions in Indian cities.
There is enough evidence for government agencies to initiate action to combat the effects of heat. Given that night-time heating is more significant during heatwaves, measures like passive cooling (through ventilation, shading, insulation and reflective surfaces) should be used to bring down indoor temperatures. Building codes should promote materials that absorb less heat and are sustainable so that the amount of heating caused by stored heat can be reduced. The presence of water bodies and vegetation is also helpful in reducing additional night-time heating. Heat action plans suggest ‘cool roofs’ for low-income houses to reduce indoor temperatures.
We need public policies that promote coordinated action to design and implement such heat adaption methods. These policies have to be developed across sectors — health, urban planning, environment, transport, education, labour, infrastructure, construction, finance and so on. For implementation, technical and financial support should be provided to municipal corporations and local bodies. The involvement of the scientific community, local communities and civil society is also critical. Looking at extreme heat as something that only the IMD or the health sector needs to handle is not going to help.
