Skip to main content

Understanding recurring heatwaves: risk, impact and way forward for resilience

By IMPRI Team 

The three-day Online Certificate Training Programme on the theme “Understanding Recurring Heatwaves: Risk, Impact and the Way Forward for Resilience” is a joint initiative of the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, and Centre for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CECCSD), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi commenced on 26th July 2022.
Inaugurating the session, Dr Souravie Ghimiray welcomed the speaker and participants to the program, followed by an introduction to the eminent panellists.
Day 1 of the program included distinguished speakers such as Shri Taj Hassan, IPS, Executive Director, NIDM, New Delhi as the patron for the session; Tikender Singh Panwar, Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla; Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI as Convenor and Moderator; and Prof Anil K Gupta, Head ECDRM, NIDM, New Delhi; Dr Simi Mehta, CEO & Editorial Director, IMPRI; Dr Soumyadip Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan; Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRI, New Delhi as our Convenors.
The expert trainers for the programme included Dr Pooja Paswan, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; Himanshu Shekhar Mishra, Senior Editor (Political and Current Affairs), New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV India); Dr Naresh Kumar, Scientist E, National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD); Dr Gulrez Shah Azhar, Independent Researcher (Former Researcher, University of Washington & RAND Corporation, USA);
Prof Joyashree Roy, Bangabandhu Chair Professor and Director, Centre on South and South East Asia Multidisciplinary Applied Research Network on Transforming Societies of Global South, AIT School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand; Dr Manu Gupta, Co-Founder, SEEDS; Dr May Mathew, Founder Trustee and Chief Planner, Centre for Environmental Efficiency, Kochi; Anup Kumar Srivastava, Sr. Consultant – Drought and Heatwave (Policy & Plan Division), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Commencing the program, the convenor for the session, Prof Anil K Gupta, made his opening remarks about the reasons for the recurring heatwaves of late. He mentioned that it is vital to analyse the impact of exposure to these heatwaves and look at the remodelling of development to reduce the effect of heatwave incidences.
Mr Tikender Singh set up the stage by sharing an anecdote with us, talking about how different areas in Delhi itself differ in temperature, something he experienced while cycling across the city. He brought up the point that the problem arises as heat waves become a class issue since most of our population works in the informal sector, which is often outdoors.
Mr Himanshu Shekhar Mishra, Senior Editor (Political and Current Affairs), New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV India):
Mr Himanshu Shekhar Mishra started by presenting “Rising Threat of Heat Waves in India”, also talking about Global Warming and the challenges ahead. He covered the criteria for heatwaves, mentioning that India is at risk in the months of April-June with a high chance of occurrence over most of the country. Heat waves have a significant impact on human health. Excessive exposure leads to dehydration, cramps, exhaustion and heatstroke. Alcohol and its fermentation can lead to poisoning. There has also been a rise in the number of instances of anxiety, palpitations, and behavioural change linked to extreme temperature rise.
The worst affected segments include- agricultural labourers, coastal community dwellers, and people living below the poverty level. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has introduced a Heat Action Plan to mitigate the problems at hand. It is a comprehensive early warning system and preparedness plan for extreme heat events. IMD, in collaboration with local health departments, implements the Heat Action Plan in many parts of the country to warn about the heat waves. Mr Mishra shared a Ground Report that he and his team shot in April 2022, on how the Heat Wave had impacted Wheat Crops in Ghaziabad and surrounding areas.
He then spoke about the steps taken by the Government to tackle Climate Change Impact on Agriculture. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The mission aims to evolve and implement strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to the changing climate. The Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, announced that to sustain domestic food production in the face of changing climate, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has launched a flagship network project called “National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture” (NICRA).
This project aims to develop and promote climate disaster resilient technologies that help regions prone to extreme weather conditions like droughts, floods and heat waves to cope with such weather incidents. To address the adverse effect of natural risks on crops, the Department of Agriculture ensures comprehensive risk cover to farmers against all non-preventable natural risks (including heatwaves) from pre-sowing to post-harvest stage under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Dr Naresh Kumar, Scientist E, National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department (IMD):
Dr Naresh spoke of the Role of IMD in heatwave management in India. He began by explaining this year’s scientific and geographic reasons for heat waves. Talking about the work done by IMD, he mentioned that IMD has been responsible for issuing warnings at meteorological subdivision levels to different users such as MHA, NDMA, SDMA and transport authorities through email, WhatsApp, and social media channels, press releases etc.
IMD has created interactive maps for monitoring and forecasting information using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition to that, they also have a dedicated page for Heat Wave Guidance on their website that the public can use to create Heat Action Plans. Furthermore, IMD has done the Heat Hazard Analysis of the entire country as another significant initiative.

DAY 2

Day 2 of the programme included eminent panelists Dr Gulrez Shah Azhar, an independent Researcher and former researcher at the University of Washington, and Professor Jayashree Roy who is the Bangabandhu Chair Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, she is also a Professor of Economics at Jadhavpur University Kolkata and Mr Anup Kumar Srivastava, Senior Consultant – Drought and Heat Wave Policy and Planning Division, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The session commenced with Dr Souravie Ghimiray, IMPRI, welcoming all the speakers and participants to the programme with an introduction to the course and the esteemed panelists.
Dr Gulrez Shah Azhar: Independent researcher and former researcher at the University of Washington:
Dr Azhar presented his work “Indian summer: three essays on Heatwave, vulnerability, estimation and adaptation”, which emphasized the need to study heat waves, and compared and analysed the implication of heatwaves now and in the future with a focus on India.
In his talk, he discussed vulnerability assessment, understanding vulnerability domains, the need to protect the vulnerable section of the society, since they are the worst affected due to heatwaves and identifying the most heat-vulnerable districts of the country. Dr Gulrez in his presentation discussed mortality estimation in India and estimated the direct economic costs associated with these deaths. He has highlighted the fact that in India, people in the economically productive older age group are more susceptible to death due to heat and as per projections, nearly 84000 deaths are estimated by the end of the century.
Steps to mitigate heat at the individual, community and federal levels were a significant area of discussion. Dr Gulrez states the predicament of heat waves as a “massive and complex challenge” and adaptation to the system requires a combination of strategies, as steps to be taken in the long run, he suggests to reduce human and economic impact bottom-up ethnographic research to be used.
Prof Joyashree Roy: Bangabandhu Chair Professor at Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, Professor of Economics at Jadhavpur University, Kolkata; National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Services Research:
Professor Joyashree presented her work “Heat Stress, Exacerbating health risks in India: Rethinking Approach to Health Service Provision”.
Prof Roy’s work majorly focused on accelerating climate action-key to a sustainable environment and discussed the impacts and risks for selected natural, managed and human systems. She stated how health-related indicators are one of the prominent reasons which hold back India’s goal of sustainable development. According to her research, climate change will make the present situation of health worse due to the lack of preventive approaches in the health sector. She discusses the potential health impacts such as increased mortality rates, allergic diseases, the rampant spread of infectious diseases, an increase in the number of undernourished people in low-income countries and the spread of waterborne diseases.
Prof Roy suggests that the impact of heat stress varies depending on the adaptive capacity and occupational pattern of the people. As a policy plan, she suggests that shades are provided to outdoor workers and air-conditioned spaces in order to achieve 100% workability zones in India. In her presentation, she mentions bringing adaptation, mitigation and sustainability together is a major concern. She highlights the need to give attention to National Preventive Head Care Mission, essential to ensure sustainable development in India. Professor Roy emphasises having an integrated and solution-centric approach in order to achieve sustainable development and to have a combination of preventive health care and cure system to face heat waves and climate-related issues.
Anup Kumar Srivastava: Senior consultant – Drought and Heat Wave Policy and Planning Division- National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):
Mr Anup Kumar presented his work “Understanding Heat Waves: Risk, Impacts and the Resilience”.
He discussed the impact of heat waves which have caused nearly 25,696 deaths between the years 1992 and 2021, not just humans, the negative effects of heat waves can be observed even in animals, wildlife, water, agriculture, labour and employment. Heat waves have caused a significant impact even on economic activities. Mr Anup Kumar has stated that the lack of an institutional mechanism to heat wave management and the lack of accurate information and data related to the heat wave as major challenges in countering the issue. He projects the need to have a changed policy in India, from relief centric to prevention and preparedness centric.
He gave an elaborative analysis of NDMA’s action on the Heat waves and a detailed talk on warning systems using colour coding. Mr Srivastava has suggested integrating climate variability, mitigation and adaptation efforts in the Heat Action Plan and strengthening an early warning system as a long-term measure, the usage of cool roofs as a mechanism to reduce heat exposure is a viable option suggested. He also addressed the need of mainstreaming heatwave management and capacity building amongst people and the significance of local-level awareness campaigns in his presentation.

DAY 3

Day 3 of the program included an insightful and enriching discussion delivered by eminent panelists, Dr May Matthew, Founder Trustee, and Chief Planner at the Centre for Environmental Efficiency, Kochi, Dr Manu Gupta, Co-Founder of SEEDS, and Dr Pooja Paswan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
The session was opened with introductory and welcoming remarks from Dr Souravie Ghimiray, IMPRI.
Dr May Matthew, Founder Trustee, and Chief Planner at the Centre for Environmental Efficiency, Kochi, opened the session with a brief but well articulate presentation on “New Normalization: India to Become a Role-Model Country— Strengths and Strategies”. Talking about the emission of carbon footprints from the 1960s till the present day, she, through data, mentions that from the 60s till the 80s, Earth’s regenerative capacity was comparatively higher than from the 80s, which is when Earth’s capacity to regenerate Carbon emissions left by Humanity began to decline, the visual effects of excessive atmospheric heating and Climate Change began to show.
However, the onset of the ‘New Normal’ brings hope to an end to the downward spiral of Climate Change. She explains the trajectory to reinstate Earth’s regenerative capacity and get progress, can be done through switching to a Circular Economy from the existing Linear Economy. She goes on to explain the correlation of Human Development and Ecological footprint through data and her own conceptual theories “EE and CC environmental deficiency and Capacity theories” to measure effective growth as high HD rate but low EFP, unlike the reverse seen before, which can be attained by India in the near future.
Furthermore, Dr Matthew highlights potential recommendations on education, health, and urban planning to substantiate her presentation. She finally, ends her presentation by suggesting the way of a circular economy, where developed countries pair with underdeveloped countries in a mutually beneficial partnership and the former provides the latter with HD provisions like sanitization, education, provisions of income, and health while it takes their bio capacity and moves towards being green zone countries. Therefore, the future urban sustainable earth scenario will depict a circular correlation between ecological footprint and HD mapping. She further reinstates the potential India has to launch this model with its states.
Dr Manu Gupta straight away delved into the Topic of the program, heat waves through perspectives from his Organizations work, which eventually forms the structure of his presentation. He highlighted the effect of climate change in the form of heat waves in the country, and the disproportionate effect of it on communities across the country, with economically weaker sections bearing the toughest brunt.
The issue of climate vulnerability in almost 225 out of 728 districts is an alarming concern, adding to the increase in rapid urbanization in cities as slums, mostly for the informal sector, highlights the issue of affordability and its close relation with negligible protection with climate-related risks. He further states the importance of collaboration of academics and policymakers to tackle this issue and further presents an achievement of SEEDS in creating housing models with effective cooling solutions (bringing down indoor temperatures by 6 degrees) to tackle the issue of rapid heating in slums.
He ends with a call of action to future planners, architects, and solution makers to briefly consider this issue and come up with innovative but sustainable solutions that can effectively lead to India’s sustainable growth.
Dr Pooja Paswan opens by centring her presentation on directives for designing a socio-environmental policy in a developing country like India, which, according to her, has confused urbanization with development and draws on the necessity of identifying development with effective resilience to natural and man-made calamities, rather than the building of malls and roads in rural areas, access to resources that ensure one’s longevity in life, rather than its reduction. She states that as we rapidly urbanize, we slowly lose touch with what development truly identifies (to enhance the quality of life) and we bask in the effects of urbanization in forms of air pollution and climate risks like the ongoing heat waves.
To pivot to prioritizing quality of life over urbanization, she moves on to her presentation, a set of logical but effective directives in creating socio-environmental policies in India. She further emphasizes the need for policies that are sustainable and cater to the needs of all communities, but at the same time require support from the entire community to ensure its success. When it comes to policies tackling climate risks, the collective consciousness of communities is extremely important when tackling the issues.
---
Acknowledgement: Tripta Behera, Research intern at IMPRI; Ishina Das, Research intern at IMPRI, Aparna Pillai, Research intern at IMPRI

Comments

TRENDING

Eight years of empowering tribal communities through water initiatives in Chhattisgarh

By Gazala Paul*   In the heart of Chhattisgarh, amidst the echoes of tribal life, a transformative journey has unfolded over the past eight years. The Samerth organization has diligently worked to elevate the lives of indigenous communities in the Kawardha district through the project, "Enabling Baiga Community to access safe drinking water." 

Towards 2024: Time for ‘We the People of India’ to wake up before it is too late

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*  It is Constitution Day once again! We, the people of India, gratefully remember 26 November 1949 when the Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly comprised women and men of distinction, who were able to represent the heart and soul of the people of India without fear or favour. They gave of their best, so that we may a visionary Constitution, which would be the mainstay for and of democracy in India!

Regretful: Kapil Dev retired not leaving Indian cricket with integrity he upheld

By Harsh Thakor  Kapil Dev scaled heights as an entertainer and a player upholding the spirit of the game almost unparalleled in his era. In his time he was cricket’s ultimate mascot of sportsmanship On his day Kapil could dazzle in all departments to turn the tempo of game in the manner of a Tsunami breaking in. He radiated r energy, at a level rarely scaled in his era on a cricket field. Few ever blended aggression with artistry so comprehenisively. Although fast medium, he could be as daunting with the ball as the very best, with his crafty outswinger, offcutter, slower ball and ball that kicked from a good length. Inspite of bowling on docile tracks on the subcontinent, Kapil had 434 scalps, with virtually no assistance. I can never forget how he obtained pace and movement on flat pancakes, trapping the great Vivian Richards in Front or getting Geoff Boycott or Zaheer Abbas caught behind. No paceman carried the workload of his team’s bowling attack on his shoulders in his eras muc

Critical factors that determine, contribute to the success and effectiveness of NGOs

By Rohit Rakshit  Over the last few years, I have been fortunate to work with numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across various states in the country. This experience has allowed me to gain insights into their diverse areas of work while also enabling me to analyze the key attributes that contribute to the success of a good NGO. According to my observations, the following are the critical factors that determine the effectiveness of an NGO.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Martin Crowe played instrumental role in making New Zealand a force in world cricket

By Harsh Thakor* Late Martin Crowe was the perfect manifestation of how mere figures could not convey or do justice to the true merit of a batsman. Crowe was arguably the most complete  or majestic batsmen of his era or the ultimate embodiment of batting perfection, or the classical batsmen. He perished 7 years ago, due to a rare and aggressive form of cancer, follicular lymphoma, which originated in 2012. In September, we celebrated his 60th birthday but sadly he left for his heavenly abode.

Raising temperature of frozen foods by 3 degrees from -18°C to -15°C can slash carbon emissions: Study

By Payel Sannigrahi  Frozen food temperatures could be changed by just three degrees to save the carbon dioxide emissions of 3.8 million cars per year, research suggests. 

Odisha leadership crisis deepens: CM engages retired babus to oversee depts' work

By Sudhansu R Das  Over decades, Odisha has lost much of its crop diversity, fertile agriculture land, water bodies, employment potential, handicraft and handloom skills etc. The state has failed to strike a balance between the urban and rural sector growth; this leads to the migration of villagers to the urban areas leading to collapse of the urban infrastructures and an acute labor shortage in rural areas.  A large number of educated, skilled and unskilled Odia people have migrated to other states for higher education, quality jobs and for earning livelihood which plummet the efficiency level of government departments. Utmost transparency in the recruitment and promotion in the state government departments will improve governance mechanisms in the state.  "No near and dear one approach" in governance mechanisms can only achieve inclusive growth for the state on payment basis. This is a moral hazard. When so many educated young people seek employment outside the

Ceasefire a tactical victory for Palestinian resistance, protests intensify across globe

By Harsh Thakor*  The Zionist leadership and Netanyahu’s government were compelled to concede the defeat of their first attempt after almost 50 days of daily fighting in the Gaza Strip.  Netanyahu was forced to concede that he was unsuccessful in suppressing the Palestinian Resistance; and that the release of the prisoners was only plausible because they accepted Hamas’ terms.

1982-83 Bombay textile strike played major role in shaping working class movement

By Harsh Thakor  On January 18th, 1982 the working class movement commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Textile Workers Strike that lasted for 18 months, till July 1983. It was landmark event that played a major role in shaping the working class movement. With more than 2.5 lakh workers from 65 textile mills joining in this strike for almost two years, this strike became one of the most significant strikes in terms of scale and duration All democrats should applaud the mill workers’ united battle, and their unflinching resilience an death defying courage continues to serve as a model for contemporary working-class movements. Many middle class persons harboured opinions that the Textile workers were pampered or were a labour aristocracy, ignorant of how they were denied wages to provide for basic necessities. The Great Bombay Textile Strike is notably one of the most defining movements in the working class struggles in Post-independent India. Bombay’s textile industry flourished in