Study shows heatwaves in Indian subcontinent challenge SDGs

The heatwaves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting challenging the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), stated a new research.

According to the study published in PLOS Climate by Ramit Debnath at University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom and colleagues suggest that heatwaves made more likely by climate change may impede India’s progress toward its sustainable development goals (SDG).

It is high time that climate experts and policymakers re-evaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability, it said.

India has committed to achieving 17 SDGs including no poverty, good health and well being, and decent work and economic growth.

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However, current climate vulnerability assessments may not fully capture how heatwaves linked to climate change may impact SDG progress.

In order to analyse India’s climate vulnerability, and how climate change may impact SDG progress, researchers conducted an analytical evaluation of India’s heat index (HI) with its climate vulnerability index, (CVI), a composite index using various indicators to account for socioeconomic, livelihood, and biophysical factors.

“The researchers found that heatwaves have weakened SDG progress more than previously estimated and that current assessment metrics may not sufficiently capture the nuances of India’s vulnerabilities to climate change impacts. For instance, in estimating HI, the study shows that nearly 90 per cent of the country is in danger zone from heatwave impact. According to CVI, around 20 per cent of the country is highly vulnerable to climate change,” the report states.

The study points out that April 2022 was hottest in 122 years which followed the hottest March on record. The cumulative heat-wave related mortality in India is over 24,000 deaths since 1992 - a 30-year span.

“Heatwaves make more Indian states vulnerable to climate change than previously estimated with the CVI. The heatwaves in India and the Indian subcontinent become recurrent and long-lasting, it is high time that climate experts and policymakers reevaluate the metrics for assessing the country’s climate vulnerability. This offers a scope for developing a holistic vulnerability measure through international cooperation and partnership,” the report states.

The authors add: “Heat waves are getting more intense in India, putting 80 per cent of the country's people in danger, which remains unaccounted for in its current climate vulnerability assessment. If this impact is not addressed immediately, India can slow its progress towards sustainable development goals.”