THE CONTEXT: India is witnessing an alarming increase in frequency, intensity, and early onset of heatwaves, with the first severe event of 2025 occurring 20 days earlier than 2024. The phenomenon, exacerbated by global warming, has emerged not only as a public health emergency but also as a multidimensional disaster with deep socio-economic and equity implications.
ARE HEATWAVES NATURAL DISASTERS? – A CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
Traditionally excluded from the list of “natural disasters,” heatwaves now meet disaster criteria due to their:
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- Sudden onset and high mortality potential
- Disruption of human, economic, and ecological systems
- Recurring nature and intensification due to anthropogenic climate change
- Recognised by the NDMA as part of India’s disaster management framework, heatwaves require both disaster preparedness and public health governance
TRENDLINES & DATA NUGGETS
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MULTI‑DIMENSIONAL IMPACTS:
| Dimension | Pathways | Illustrative Data / Case |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Heatstroke, renal failure, cardiovascular collapse | 26,000 ↑ heat related deaths 2015 23 (Lancet Countdown 2024) |
| Agriculture | ↓ labour hours, crop sterility (esp. wheat, pulses) | 2022 heatwave cut national wheat output by 3 Mt |
| Livestock | Reduced milk yield, mortality | Dairy losses ₹1,500 cr (Punjab 2023) |
| Economy & Labour | Productivity dips, factory downtime, power curtailment | Delhi peak power demand record 8,302 MW (June 2024) |
| Social Equity | Disproportionate burden on women, elderly, slum dwellers | 60 % heat deaths in <20 m² households (Ahmedabad study 2021) |
| Environment | Forest fires, groundwater depletion, ozone spikes | 1.1 M ha forest fires in 2023 (FSI) |
KEY ELEMENTS OF INDIA’S INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE ARCHITECTURE TO HEATWAVES:
| Level | Institutional Mechanism | Key Features / Functions |
|---|---|---|
| National | NDMA Guidelines (2016, rev. 2022) | Recognises heatwaves as a disaster; advises State HAPs, early warnings, vulnerability mapping, long-term cooling strategies |
| NPCCHH – National Programme on Climate Change & Human Health | Provides heat-health advisories; strengthens climate-sensitive health infrastructure | |
| IMD–MoHFW Integrated Dashboard (in development) | Combines meteorological forecasts with health alerts and district-level heat index monitoring | |
| Sub-National | State & City Heat Action Plans (HAPs) | 23 States and ~140 cities have HAPs focused on early warning, awareness, hydration support, cooling infrastructure |
| Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan (2013) | Case study: ↓ >30% mortality; tri-colour alerts, cool roofs, slum outreach, early morning work timings | |
| Legal-Policy Backing | Disaster Management Act, 2005; Articles 21, 47, 48A of Constitution; Supreme Court orders | Heatwaves as public health and rights issue; mandates safe environments and State accountability |
GLOBAL BENCHMARKS VS. INDIA’S HAPS – KEY COMPARATIVE INSIGHTS:
| Country / System | Mechanism | Features | Relevance for India |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Heat Health Alert (HHA) | Day and night temperature thresholds; region-specific risk-based alerting | Consider dual temp triggers and elderly risk factors |
| United States (OSHA) | WBGT-based heat safety protocols | Wet Bulb Globe Temperature; hydration, staggered shifts, worker heat acclimatisation | Can inform labour codes and informal worker protection |
| India (Ahmedabad HAP) | First urban HAP in Asia | Tri-colour alerts, cool roofs, early shift timings, school advisories | Scalable model for Smart Cities and AMRUT 2.0 |
CHALLENGES AND GAPS IN INDIA’S HEATWAVE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK:
Fragmented Health Data Ecosystem & Surveillance Failure
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- There is no national-level real-time heat morbidity and mortality database. Most death certifications in India lack ICD-10 coding for heat-related illnesses (e.g., heat stroke, dehydration-induced renal failure).
- Massive under-reporting occurs, especially in rural and informal urban settlements. Only tertiary hospitals in metros document heatstroke as a primary cause of death.
- Evidence:
- The Lancet Countdown 2023 estimated that over 83,000 heat-related deaths in India (2021) remain unattributed in official health data.
- National Health Profile 2022 doesn’t disaggregate heat-related illness data by geography or age—hampering targeted interventions.
Incomplete Risk Forecasting: The Invisible Role of Humidity & Nighttime Heat
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- Current HAPs focus primarily on maximum daytime temperature, ignoring key variables like relative humidity, nighttime lows, and heat index (HI)—which critically determine thermal discomfort and mortality risk.
- Vulnerable populations (e.g., elderly, slum dwellers) exposed to sustained night heat experience cumulative thermal stress, with no opportunity for body recovery.
- In 2022, “tropical cities are experiencing tropical nights with no thermal relief,” necessitating diurnal temperature monitoring.
- Global Best Practice:
- The UK Heat Health Alert System considers both day and night temperature thresholds.
- Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) metrics, used in the US-OSHA standards, offer a more realistic measure of human heat exposure.
Exclusion of Migrants, Informal Workers, and the Urban Poor
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- Current HAP outreach is heavily reliant on SMS alerts, English-language advisories, and public announcements—often inaccessible to seasonal migrants, informal workers, and linguistic minorities.
- An estimated 380 million Indians (~75% of the workforce) are in heat-exposed, informal occupations (NSSO 2017-18), yet no enforceable labour safeguards like paid heat breaks, shade-rest protocols, or insurance for lost wages exist.
- In the 2022 Delhi heatwave, waste-pickers and sanitation workers reported heat exhaustion, yet no protective guidelines were issued by the urban local body (ULB).
Financial and Governance Deficits: Heat Resilience Gets a Budgetary Blind Spot
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- The CAG 2023 audit of the Smart Cities Mission found that less than 0.7% of total funds were earmarked for heat mitigation infrastructure (e.g., cool pavements, urban forests).
- Despite heatwaves being one of the most fatal climate events in India, budgetary allocations for HAPs remain ad hoc, often dependent on donor/CSR support.
- Institutional Gap:
- The 15th Finance Commission does not list heatwave mitigation under “Disaster Risk Management priorities” despite NDMA guidelines.
Regulatory Void: No Mandatory Codes for Heat-Sensitive Urban Design
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- The National Building Code (NBC) 2016 lacks enforceable provisions mandating the use of cool roofs, solar reflective paints, or thermal-comfort materials in low-income or informal housing.
- In slum clusters and EWS housing, metal/tin sheets amplify indoor temperatures by 6–8°C above ambient levels, worsening heatstroke risk.
Fragmented Multi-Agency Coordination and Weak Accountability
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- Heatwave management is diffused across multiple ministries—MoHFW, NDMA, IMD, MoEFCC, MoHUA—with no single nodal accountability.
- Response plans often fail due to bureaucratic silos, absence of clear inter-departmental protocols, and lack of district-level heatwave command cells.
THE WAY FORWARD:
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- Universal Heat‑Health Surveillance: Mandate real‑time WBGT dashboards & e‑mortality registers under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
- Legally‑anchored HAPs: Embed heatwave in Disaster Management Act 2005 (Section 23‑25) to ensure fiscal devolution via State Disaster Response Fund.
- Cool Roof Policy 2.0: Scale Telangana pilot—provide GST rebate on solar‑reflective paints; tie‑in with PM‑Awas Yojana for subsidy layering.
- Urban Greening & Blue Infrastructure: Enforce Urban Tree Canopy ≥20 % in Master Plans 2041; restore urban lakes for evaporative cooling (Mission Amrit Sarovar).
- Climate‑smart Work Codes: ILO‑aligned occupational standards—mandatory shaded rest breaks, staggered shifts, portable ORS for construction & MGNREGS works.
- Gender‑Responsive Advisories: Separate heat advisories for kitchen workers; promote smokeless community kitchens to cut indoor heat load.
- Heat Insurance & Social Protection: Pilot “Loss of Pay Heat Index” linked wage‑compensation under e‑Shram; integrate with PM‑Suraksha Bima Yojana.
- Thermal‑Resilient Infrastructure: Revise CPWD Schedule of Rates to favour AAC blocks, ventilated façades; green roofs in public buildings.
- Micro‑level Hotspot Mapping: Use LiDAR & satellite LST to target ward‑level interventions; publish open‑data ‘heat equity maps’.
- Behavioural Nudges: School curriculum modules, heat‑siren alerts via UPI/PM‑WANI hotspots; leverage SHGs for water‑station maintenance.
THE CONCLUSION:
Heatwaves have metastasised from a meteorological aberration to an equity‑laden public‑health emergency. India’s preparedness must now graduate from reactive advisories to rights‑based resilience, marrying cutting‑edge climate science with inclusive governance to safeguard lives, livelihoods and constitutional promise of ‘social justice’.”
UPSC PAST YEAR QUESTION:
Q. Vulnerability is an essential element for defining disaster impacts and its threat to people. How and in what ways can vulnerability to disasters be characterized? Discuss different types of vulnerability with reference to disasters. 2019
MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION:
Q. “Heatwaves in India are not just a meteorological event but a public health emergency, a labour rights issue, and an urban governance failure.” Suggest an integrated institutional framework to enhance national heatwave resilience.
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