Plans sans action: Heatwaves bake unprepared India

Largely advisory in nature, India’s heat action plans remain only on paper, marauding vulnerable communities to the vagaries of nature

Bengaluru/New Delh: In the last week of February, the India Meteorological Department issued a heatwave alert for three coastal districts of Karnataka —  Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi — followed by advisories on avoiding outdoor work at noon. However, not much has changed for Krishna Poojari, a Mangaluru city pourakarmika who works from 6 am to 3.30 pm.

"It all boils down to whether or not I have cleaned the areas assigned to me. I work in Jeppe, Sooterpete and Ujjodi wards. The heat is such that even the person driving the garbage truck suffers. The government may say we can leave early, but we just cannot afford that," Poojari tells DH.

Poojari is among lakhs of ordinary Indians who have no other option but to work outdoors, bearing the heat of a blazing sun with little protection. From traffic constables and brick kiln workers to vegetable vendors, sales representatives and public works labourers, the list of vulnerable individuals is long.

This year, India witnessed the warmest February in 125 years while 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1901. Between March and May, the number of heatwave days is likely to be above normal in most parts of the country barring the north east, western Himalayas and parts of peninsular India. Currently, heatwave and severe heatwave conditions prevail over Gujarat, parts of Rajasthan, Vidarbha and Telangana. Odisha is going to be hit by severe heat waves in the next few days.

How does one define the heatwave? The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 30 degrees Celsius in hilly areas and 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas, with a departure from the normal maximum temperature of at least 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. Also, when the temperature touches 45 degrees Celsius, a heatwave is declared.

According to a report prepared by the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health, 2024 witnessed over 48,000 suspected heatstroke cases, 269 suspected heatstroke deaths and 161 confirmed heatstroke deaths. Heatwave deaths in 2023 were recorded to be 166 and studies are now available on how heatwaves are impacting public health and impacting the labour market.

To tackle the problem, the National Disaster Management Authority, in collaboration with states and IMD, created Heat Action Plans for 23 states and union territories. But in most of the states, such plans remain largely on paper.

Karnataka's heat action plan, for instance, is a document that deals with all the challenges: From understanding heatwaves and the role of humidity in creating the dangerous 'wet bulb' conditions to the assessment of vulnerable communities, mitigation measures and data management.

But its implementation is hampered by a lack of knowledge in the line departments. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Mullai Muhilan M P, who also heads the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), acknowledges such challenges.

"More awareness is required to understand heatwaves, especially the combination of humidity and high temperature in coastal areas. I will issue an advisory to all the line departments on mitigation measures for vulnerable sections like pourakarmikas and traffic police. I will also talk to the commissioner of the Mangaluru City Corporation to explore changes in work timings for pourakarmikas," he says.

Last year, north, west and central India experienced 8-16 days of heatwave in May. The intense heat blazed through nearly 80% of the country’s land mass. May 2024 was particularly sweltering when 27 out of 36 meteorological subdivisions suffered from killer heat —  blistering conditions that lasted a range of periods. Rajasthan experienced a 16-day streak of heatwaves and Uttarakhand, often a reprieve for travellers from the plains, experienced one too.  

Successful models 

Ahmedabad was South Asia’s first city to implement a heat action plan way back in 2013. The execution of similar plans for other cities remains lacking. By design, the plans are advisory in nature without checks in place to ensure compliance.

A Centre for Policy Research’s analysis of 37 heat action plans — nine at the city level, 13 at district level and 15 at state level across 18 states — shows most of them are ineffective at identifying and targeting vulnerable groups. The majority of these interventions were not designed for the local context and had an oversimplified view of the hazard.

B S Lokesh Kumar, inspector general of police of Ballari Range (Ballari, Koppal, Vijayanagara and Raichur districts) acknowledges that traffic police are among the vulnerable whose exposure to the extreme heat is maximum. “We increased the shifts from two in a day to three to reduce working hours. We have also discussed issues related to shelter for traffic police. In some places, temporary shelters have been provided," he says.

Raichur is among the hottest districts of Karnataka, with the mercury crossing 45 degrees Celsius last year. As the district recorded 42.4 degrees Celsius on March 14, the Superintendent of Police M Puttamadaiah says he will seek to address the immediate needs of the traffic police on the ground.

"Besides the provision of drinking water and buttermilk, we are thinking of ways to keep them cool in that environment. Unfortunately, many junctions do not have shelters and we have regarded this as a concern. We will place a request before the deputy commissioner to provide shelter. We will also explore private sector participation in such interventions," he adds.

Regardless of whether it is Bengaluru or remote districts, government departments have poor understanding of the enormity of the situation. Construction workers, municipal and load workers who are exposed to the heat, face many health problems that can be attributed to extreme heat conditions. “Unfortunately, we do not have the preparedness to tackle such issues," says Pradeep Babu of the Bharatiya Jnana Vijgnan Samiti, a civil society forum focussed on protecting the vulnerable sections from climate extremes.

Last month, the Samiti held a round table with the Karnataka State Building and Other Construction Workers Federation, to gain a better understanding of the issues faced by the labourers. "We are ready with a draft proposal to the government on workshops for officers at district, taluk and gram panchayat level. We will volunteer to work with them on mitigation measures. The plan will be finalised after another round of meetings," Babu says.

At the Disaster Management Department, officials have been struggling to make fellow employees aware of the seriousness of the issue. A senior official, who took part in a meeting earlier this week, flags the dire need to fix the basics of heatwave science, especially understanding the indirect health impacts of heat and relative humidity, so that officers on the ground take precautionary measures rather than reacting to incidents as they occur.

Pollution and climate change

However, it is easier said than done. Scientists say heatwaves are not only here to stay but will intensify in the coming years. In a country where approximately 50% of the GDP is contributed by workers who work in heat-exposed conditions, are there enough safety measures in place? 

As record temperatures continue to shock districts, a growing body of research has also demonstrated the interconnection between air pollution, temperature anomalies and urban heat island effect.

The National Green Tribunal recently noted that high-rise buildings with glass facades were increasing urban heat and consuming ten-fold more electricity for air conditioning. It ordered the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to formulate a set of guidelines by March.

Cities like Delhi are so hot that they are not cooling down adequately even during nights, adding to severe thermal discomfort. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Report notes that hot extremes, including heatwaves, have intensified in urban centres that are experiencing air temperatures several degrees warmer than the surrounding areas, especially during the night.

Urban heat island effect can add up to two degrees Celsius to local temperatures, reducing the adaptive capacity of cities and increasing risks, warns the IPCC. 

“Urban local bodies need to be empowered to take up vulnerability assessment and adaptation measures. There is a need to look at long-term measures like use of heat-resistant materials in construction, changing by-laws to enable better ventilation and air circulation," notes a disaster management official.

Heatwaves have been silent disasters, with most victims having pre-existing health conditions, making it difficult for doctors to ascertain the cause of fatality as heat.

A set of guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has a separate chapter on the criteria required to diagnose a heatstroke or label a death as caused by heat. However, a health department official who took part in a state-level meeting recently admitted that a majority of doctors were yet to follow the guidelines.

K Mahantesh, general secretary of the Karnataka State Building and Other Construction Workers Forum, explains that the government has failed to establish protection measures for the people of north Karnataka. "During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government used to notify working hours (8 am-1.30 pm) during summer months to cope with heat. This set a benchmark for the private sector as well. But the government has not resumed the special timings,” he adds. 

Way forward

Decentralised decision making, backed by scientific data, will go a long way in establishing a pattern of heat-related health conditions.

“There is a critical gap in information related to heatstrokes. For instance, in Bengaluru, gig workers and other informal workers are on the road throughout the day to make ends meet. But there is absolutely no information on the impact on health for such a large workforce. It is becoming difficult to establish that heat vulnerability is increasing as anecdotal evidence can't substitute city-scale data," observes a senior official.

V Rashmi Mahesh, principal secretary, Revenue Department (Disaster Management), says these issues were discussed at a recent Weather Watch Committee meeting, chaired by the development commissioner.

"We have stressed on the availability of immediate mitigation measures like availability of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), essential medicines and fluids at all healthcare units. The committee also deliberated on the need to ensure drinking water and shelters in public spaces. We have also taken up the need for capacity building among doctors in the Health and Family Welfare department to enable diagnosis of health conditions linked to heatwave," she adds.

She points out that deputy commissioners are also conducting DDMA meetings to address questions related to rising temperatures. "We will also ask them to explore solutions to protect the vulnerable sections, especially with regard to the working hours of the people who are exposed to the sun between 12 and 4 pm," she notes.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has once again written to the Centre seeking the notification of heatwave as a disaster eligible for the National Disaster Response Fund. Previously, a similar proposal was placed before the 15th Finance Commission, which rejected the demand and pointed to the provision that the state governments can use up to 10% of the State Disaster Relief Funds in such conditions.

Cut-off box - Cooling plan
n The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) provides an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing reduction of cooling demand refrigerant transition enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options by 2037-38.
n A list of action points has been finalised for the reduction of cooling and energy demand in cooling after mapping the recommendations with ongoing government programmes and schemes.
n For the promotion of passive cooling in buildings the Bureau of Energy Efficiency has brought out an Energy Conservation Building Code for all large commercial buildings and Eco-Niwas Samhita for residential buildings.
n Upskilling and certification of 43450 refrigeration and air-conditioning service technicians has been undertaken under the national skill qualification framework. In addition 29000 service technicians are being trained as part of the Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) phase-out management plans under the Montreal Protocol.