• The majority of the deaths were among people suffering from chronic diseases and the elderly, as the high temperatures contributed to the deterioration of their health condition and led to their death,” Kamal Elyansli, the regional director of health
  

Business India - 07 July, 2024

loss happening due to climate change

• impact of climate related crisis like extremely high temperature, scanty monsoon, floods and rising sea levels, shave off as much as 4.5 per cent of India’s GDP by 2030, due to lost labour hours from extreme heat and humidity.
• @ daily max temperature - 45 degrees almost for a fortnight

Monetary Policy Report by RBI, 2024

• Climate change has increased the frequency and ferocity of weather shocks and is posing challenges for monetary policy and growth.
• Every degree of rise in temperature above 27 degrees Celsius lowers labour productivity by 2- 4%
• Due to extreme heat, India could lose 4.5% of its GDP [^1]
• Summer crop will be impacted by the exceptionally hot summer season and low reservoir levels

India is particularly vulnerable to losing labour productivity due to heatwaves, as a large section of its workforce is engaged in outdoor work

Dependence on coal

• Coal is still generating about three-quarters of our electricity, and the government sees it remaining the mainstay fuel for at least another decade.
• Currently, 28.5 gigawatts is present in the country and the government adds more than 50 gigawatts over the next 3 years, taking the tally close to 90 gigawatts.

Plan to host COP33

• Bharat plans to host the international climate talks that is COP 33 in 2028

Initiatives by Government

• National Adaptation Fund for climate change has seeded nearly 40 climate resilience projects
• Launching of International Solar alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
• Government recently hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of 14 kharif crop.

Targets by Bharat

• plans to generate 50% of all its power using cleaner fuels by 2030
• net zero emissions by 2070

Factors contributing to increase in heatwaves

• Unusual summer temperature
• reduced wetlands and water bodies
• unbalanced urban growth
• acute water shortage
• rapid construction
• high populationi density
• green area is reducing
• construction of high rises affecting the wind movement

Consequences of heatwaves

• Food inflation has remained high a 8.5%, due to significant increase in vegetable prices
• Vegetable inflation has stayed in double digits for five consecutive months

Fruits and vegetables account for 8.9% of the total weight in the inflation basket.

• Summer rains from june to september are critical for farmers to plant crops such as rice, cotton, soybeans, surgarcane

Multi hazard disasters

• one event triggering another or series of other disasters
• this will have an cascading impacts results in destruction in higher magnitude
• heavy rainfall leads to breach of glacial lakes and landslides in hilly areas, resulting in flash floods downstreams
• extreme heatwaves triggering largescale forest fires.

Steps to tackle

• Reduce the concrete
• Delhi's long term plan increasing heat insulation of buildings developing shelters for urban poor and slum dwellers investing in cooling water bodies
• heat resistant crops will have to be promoted

Bharat's first heat action plan

• Under the guidance of National Disaster Management Authority
• 2013, following a spate of heat wave deaths, Gujarat formulated the first HAP
• 4 major components
  1. early warning and inter agency co ordination
  2. public awareness and community mobilisation
  3. medical and para medical system
  4. reducing exposure and long term actions
• After introducing the HAP, the state was able to reduce the mortality at peak time by 40%
• Ahmedabad introduced adjusting working hours and shaded rest areas.
• Odisha mandates a halt to outdoor work during peak hours.
• Most of the HAPs remain perfunctory, underfunded and poorly coordinates. [^1]
• The ministry of labour, environment and urban affairs and health operate independently in the absence of guidelines at the central level. [^1]
  • Inter ministerial task force on climate and work, bringing together Ministries of Labour and Employment, Housing and Urban Affairs, Environment, Forest and climate change, Health with NDMA and SDMA.

March 2025

Lethal heat can also kill millions of healthy people

Uncompensable heat stress

• Occurs when a healthy, acclimated person taking every precaution—resting, hydrating, and sweating—can no longer keep their core temperature in check.
• Earlier researches proposed thresholds, that limit the body temperature to 35 degrees celsius.
• Millions of people engaged in essential outdoor activities will face several days of uncompensable heat stress each year at just 2°C of global warming
• People living in low latitudes, including large parts of northern India, will face the most severe repercussions.
• With the rise in temperature, the population exposed to uncompensable heat stress is 6 times more than estimated. Print

May 2025

Time to protect the India's workers from the heat

• In the first week of April 2025, Delhi's temperature crossed the dangerous threshold of above 41 degree celsius. [^1]

NDMA's heat wave guidelines, shortcomings and way out

• This released in 2019, does not mention informal workers explicitly, but generally under the category of outdoor workers, and vulnerable groups. [^1]
• This should change, by explicitly include informal workers.
• Mapping occupational vulnerabilities distinctly
• Defining safe working hours, mandatory rest breaks, access to water and emergency response mechanisms
• Every municipal body must engage worker collectives, unions and workers welfare boards in co creating occupation - specific plans.
• Can do innovative financing through corporate social responsibility, dedicated development budgets.
• Heat adaptation and worker inclusion must be legally written into master plans, building bye laws and infrastructure codes.
• Promote natural shade through urban forestry and tree corridors.
• Informal workspaces such as vendor chowks must be retrofitted with materials and design strategies that ensure thermal comfort.
• Every city and district can appoint a dedicated heat officer - someone empowered to manage and monitor heat response measures and work across departments. [^1]

Global examples

• In the California and Oregon, US, mandate employers to provide water, shade, rest breaks and heat safety training
• In France, "Plan Canicule" requires work adjustments, hydration during heat alerts and opened public buildings and space to the public for cooling off.
• In Qatar and Australia, outdoor work is restricted during peak heat and employers are obligated to assess and mitigate heat risks. (The Hindu 10.05.2025)

April 2026