SC issues notice to Centre on plea seeking national guidelines on heatwave

New Delhi: Taking note of a PIL highlighting more than 700 heatwave deaths last year, the Supreme Court has sought the Centre's response on a plea seeking directions to strictly implement national guidelines to prepare an action plan on the management of heatwave conditions.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Disaster Management Authority and others, seeking their response within two weeks.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by environment activist Vikrant Tongad, who also sought direction to provide facilities for "forecast, issuance of heat alert/early warning systems, and round-the-clock redressal helplines, among others.

Advocate Akash Vashishtha, appearing for Tongad, submitted that more than 700 deaths were reported due to heatwave and heat stress last year.

There have been repeated predictions that heat stress will become more intense, resulting in more number of deaths, he said.

"Earlier, heatwaves were predominant in three regions, including northwest and central India, but now they have spread to the east coast, east, northeast, peninsular, southern and south-central regions and this has been stated by an IMD report itself," Vashishtha said.

The petition highlighted that despite the National Guidelines for Preparation of Action Plan – Prevention and Management of Heatwave, 2019, issued by the National Disaster Management Authority, many states and union territories are yet to implement the mandated heat action plans.

It also referred to the Centre's statutory responsibilities under Section 35 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which requires the government to take appropriate measures for disaster management.

Additionally, Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, obliges the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to act decisively to protect and improve environmental quality.

Pointing that the escalating heatwave crisis was linked to climate change, the plea sought compensation to the victims of heat-related illness and provide minimum wages or other social and financial security to the vulnerable classes during the extreme heat periods.

"A meteorological monograph, dated: April 2023, titled, ‘Heat and Cold Waves in India: Processes and Predictability, published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, and authored by scientists from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, has warned that the risk of heatwaves is projected to increase tenfold in India in the 21st century and that more than 70 per cent of the land area in the country is expected to be affected by heatwaves.

"The study further warns that future climate warming will lead to a significant increase in heat-related mortality, especially in lower latitude developing countries like India, where heatwaves will be more frequent. The study projects that a sizable part of India will experience heat stress conditions in the future," the plea said.