Heatwaves in India
Kartavya Desk Staff
Syllabus: Disaster Management
Source: TH
Context: India witnessed severe heatwaves in March 2025 — 20 days earlier than in 2024 — highlighting the urgent need for short-term and long-term strategies to tackle heat stress and its cascading impacts.
About Heatwaves:
• Definition: A heatwave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, often accompanied by high humidity, significantly impacting human health, agriculture, and ecosystems.
• Key Features: In India, a heatwave is declared when maximum temperature exceeds 40°C in plains and 30°C in hilly areas. It is intensified by factors like humidity, wind speed, and urban heat islands. Global warming and climate change are major contributors to the increased frequency and intensity.
• In India, a heatwave is declared when maximum temperature exceeds 40°C in plains and 30°C in hilly areas.
• It is intensified by factors like humidity, wind speed, and urban heat islands.
• Global warming and climate change are major contributors to the increased frequency and intensity.
Impacts of Heatwaves:
• Health Impacts: Causes heat stress, affecting kidneys, liver, brain, and can lead to death. Vulnerable groups: elderly, women, outdoor workers, poor communities.
• Causes heat stress, affecting kidneys, liver, brain, and can lead to death.
• Vulnerable groups: elderly, women, outdoor workers, poor communities.
• Economic and Livelihood Impacts: Reduces agricultural productivity, kills livestock. Lowers work hours, especially among informal sector workers. Estimated loss: 3%–5% of GDP; in 2023, 6% of India’s work hours were lost due to heat stress.
• Reduces agricultural productivity, kills livestock.
• Lowers work hours, especially among informal sector workers.
• Estimated loss: 3%–5% of GDP; in 2023, 6% of India’s work hours were lost due to heat stress.
• Social Inequity: Disproportionately affects marginalized sections, migrants, women, and the elderly.
• Disproportionately affects marginalized sections, migrants, women, and the elderly.
Challenges associated Heatwave are:
• Inadequate Implementation: Heat Action Plans (HAPs) exist but face poor execution.
• Lack of Comprehensive Data: Incomplete heat-related morbidity and mortality statistics.
• Urban Vulnerabilities: Confined spaces, dense housing amplify risks in poor neighbourhoods.
• Infrastructure Gaps: Insufficient cooling shelters, public water points, and ORS availability.
• Limited Awareness: Public education on heat safety remains patchy.
Way Ahead:
• Short-Term Measures: Strengthen HAPs: Update State and city-level plans factoring in humidity and local vulnerabilities. Early Warning Systems: Adopt Heat Health Alert (HHA) systems using both day and night temperatures. Immediate Public Health Actions: Ensure availability of drinking water, ORS, staggered work hours. Targeted Advisories: Provide localized and socially contextual heat advisories.
• Strengthen HAPs: Update State and city-level plans factoring in humidity and local vulnerabilities.
• Early Warning Systems: Adopt Heat Health Alert (HHA) systems using both day and night temperatures.
• Immediate Public Health Actions: Ensure availability of drinking water, ORS, staggered work hours.
• Targeted Advisories: Provide localized and socially contextual heat advisories.
• Long-Term Measures: Urban Planning Reforms: Promote cool roofing, green spaces, better building materials. Summer Shelters: Establish ‘summer shelters’ for vulnerable populations. Skill Development: Train workforce for heat-resilient construction and urban management. Insurance Coverage: Offer insurance for wage losses during extreme heat events. Policy Integration: Coordinate climate action across sectors for sustainable adaptation.
• Urban Planning Reforms: Promote cool roofing, green spaces, better building materials.
• Summer Shelters: Establish ‘summer shelters’ for vulnerable populations.
• Skill Development: Train workforce for heat-resilient construction and urban management.
• Insurance Coverage: Offer insurance for wage losses during extreme heat events.
• Policy Integration: Coordinate climate action across sectors for sustainable adaptation.
Conclusion:
India’s rising heatwave threat demands a people-centric, equity-focused, and science-based approach combining immediate relief measures and sustainable, long-term urban resilience strategies. Proactive policy action today can avert major public health and economic crises tomorrow.
• “Heat waves have become more frequent and intense in India due to climate change.” Discuss the causes, impact, and mitigation strategies for heat waves in India. (250 words)