Provide for adequate water for outdoor events in summer months: Centre’s advisory

New Delhi: With temperature rising across the country, the Union Health Ministry has asked the states to ensure at least two litres of free drinking water for each person if they are organising any outdoor events in summer months.

Following the India Meteorological Department’s warning on “above normal number of heatwave days for most parts of the country”, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has written to the states on the dos and don’ts to deal with rising temperature including adequate provisioning of water.

For organising outdoor events, the advice is to make provisions for at least two litres of drinking water per person or 500 ml per hour, whatever is higher. Also there should be at least one water outlet for every 500 individuals. 

Also outdoor events should not be planned during the hottest time of the day (12-3 pm), says the advisory prepared by the National Centre for Disease Control.

Srivastava advised the states to probe heat-related illnesses and deaths as heat stroke cases were being recorded in a centralised portal and a five-day window period would be available to rectify the data.

With fire incidents becoming commonplace in summer months, the central advisory also puts emphasis on fire audits at hospitals as short-circuits and electrical overload are the two common reasons behind such fires. 

Srivastava also asked the states to review the preparedness of health facilities for the management of heatstroke cases and heat-related illnesses.

"Health facility preparedness must be reviewed for the availability of adequate quantities of essential medicines, intravenous fluids, ice packs, ORS and all necessary equipment to provide active, emergency cooling," she said.

The guidance on developing heatstroke management units and emergency management of severe heat-related illnesses has been shared with the state health departments.