16th Finance Commission Recommends Heatwaves and Lightning as National Disasters Source: DTE
Kartavya Desk Staff
Subject: Disaster Management
Context: The 16th Finance Commission has formally recommended the inclusion of heatwaves and lightning in India’s list of nationally notified disasters, a move triggered by record-breaking temperatures and rising fatalities in 2024-25.
About 16th Finance Commission Recommends Heatwaves and Lightning as National Disasters:
What is 16th Finance Commission:
• The Finance Commission is a constitutional body (Article 280) that defines the financial relations between the Centre and the States. The 16th Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya, is responsible for recommending the tax-sharing formula and disaster management grants for the period starting April 2026.
Trends & Data: The Rising Threat
Heatwaves:
• Record Breaking Heat: 2024 was recorded as India’s warmest year since 1901, with temperatures in parts of Delhi and Rajasthan crossing 50°C.
• Frequency: India saw 446 heatwave days across various regions in 2024, the highest since 2000.
• Warm Nights: A critical trend of extremely hot nights has emerged, preventing human bodies from recovering, as seen in Delhi’s record minimum temperature of 2°C in June 2024.
Lightning:
• Surging Strikes: India witnessed a 400% rise in lightning strikes between 2019 and 2025 due to atmospheric instability.
• Fatality Leader: Lightning is now the #1 cause of death from natural disasters in India, accounting for over 35% of all disaster-related fatalities in recent years.
• Deadly Spells: In a single week in April 2025, Bihar alone reported nearly 100 deaths from lightning strikes.
Need for Inclusion:
• Relieving the “10% Trap” for State Finances: States are allowed to use only 10% of SDRF for “local disasters” like heatwaves, which is grossly inadequate for prolonged climate extremes, forcing diversion of development funds.
E.g. Odisha (2024) recorded 140+ suspected heatstroke deaths, yet absence of national disaster status prevented access to NDRF, straining state finances.
• Uniform Financial Protection for Families: National notification standardises ex-gratia compensation, ensuring equal financial relief to all victims’ families irrespective of state capacity or administrative efficiency.
E.g. In UP and Bihar (2025), lightning victims faced delayed or uneven payouts due to lack of a centralised relief framework.
• Legal Shield for the Working Class: Declaring heatwaves/lightning as disasters empowers governments to legally enforce work stoppages, rest breaks, and safety norms for informal and outdoor workers.
E.g. During the 2024 General Elections, 33 poll workers died in a single day due to heat exposure, revealing absence of enforceable disaster-grade safeguards.
• Funding Long-Term Infrastructure (Mitigation): Disaster recognition enables use of mitigation funds for permanent solutions like cooling shelters, cool roofs, and lightning protection, reducing future losses.
E.g. Delhi and Ahmedabad (2024) faced power and water failures from urban heat islands, which could have been mitigated through centrally funded heat-resilient infrastructure.
• Enforcing Last-Mile Early Warnings: National disaster status converts early warnings from advisory to mandatory, fixing accountability for district-level dissemination and community outreach.
E.g. Despite IMD alerts, 160+ lightning deaths in April–May 2025 occurred as many farmers never received mobile or field-level warnings, exposing governance gaps.
Initiatives Taken to Counter the Threat:
• Heat Action Plans (HAPs): Now implemented in 23 states, focusing on Cool Roofs, shaded footpaths, and drinking water stations.
• Mitigation Project on Lightning Safety (MPLS): A project by NDMA to install public alert poles and lightning protection in 10 high-risk states.
• Sachet Portal / CAP: A Common Alert Protocol to send real-time geo-targeted SMS alerts for thunderstorms and heatwaves.
• Palm Tree Planting: States like Odisha are planting palm trees in rural areas to act as natural lightning conductors.
Challenges Associated with Inclusion:
• Attribution of Death: Hard to prove if a person died of heat or a pre-existing condition (heart failure, kidney issues).
E.g. In the 2024 heatwave, many hospitalizations were recorded as fever rather than heatstroke.
• Financial Strain on Centre: Adding these would require massive recurring payouts for thousands of deaths annually.
E.g. With nearly 3,000 lightning deaths a year, the compensation bill alone would exceed ₹120 crore.
• Widespread Occurrence: Unlike localized cyclones, heatwaves cover half the country, making disaster zones hard to define.
E.g. Northwest India often stays above 45°C for months, making the disaster state semi-permanent.
• Data Accuracy: Rural areas often under-report heat deaths, leading to ghost data and uneven fund distribution.
E.g. Estimates suggest media-reported heat deaths are only a fraction of the actual numbers in rural India.
• Incentive for Misreporting: States might over-attribute natural deaths to heat to claim central compensation.
E.g. Historical trends show a spike in disaster claims whenever a new category is added to the notified list.
Way Ahead:
• Dynamic Thresholds: Set state-specific temperature/humidity (Wet Bulb) thresholds for declaring heatwaves.
• Parametric Insurance: Explore insurance models for farmers and outdoor workers to cover loss of wages during extreme heat.
• Last-Mile Connectivity: Use Aapda Mitra volunteers to ensure lightning warnings reach the person in the field in real-time.
• Urban Cooling: Integrate Cool Roof policies and Green Corridors into the Smart Cities Mission to tackle Heat Islands.
• Scientific Death Audits: Create medical boards to accurately certify heat-related deaths for transparent compensation.
Conclusion:
The 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation marks a paradigm shift in India’s disaster policy, acknowledging that silent killers like heat and lightning are now deadlier than cyclones. By providing a ₹1.4 lakh crore fiscal cushion, the government is moving from reactive relief to proactive climate resilience. This inclusion will finally provide a legal and financial safety net for India’s most vulnerable populations facing the frontlines of climate change.
Q. Evaluate the effectiveness of India’s strategies to mitigate the impact of lightning strikes, in the context of disaster management. (150 words)