Beating the heat

Source: This post is created based on the article “Beating the heat” published in The Hindu on 9^th July 2022.

Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Environment – Climate Change

Context: Rising temperature is becoming a bigger problem with the days going by. Adapting to and mitigating this challenge is the need of the hour.

The planet’s temperature is rising consistently. Furthermore, an analysis of public weather data suggests that Monsoon temperatures are 0.3 °C higher than average summer temperatures when compared from 1951-80. From 2012-2021, this anomaly rose to 0.4 °C. Whereas, India’s average temperature has risen 0.62 °C from 1901-2020. However, it does not mean a uniform rise in temperature across seasons. Temperature is rising more during winter (January and February) and post-monsoon (October-December).

From 2015-2020, 2,137 people reportedly died due to heat stroke in northwest India. While, southern India had reported 2,444 deaths due to excessive environmental heat, with Andhra Pradesh accounting for over half the reported casualties.

The urban heat island effect is contributing to this stress. This phenomenon happens because of concrete surfaces, and dense populations tend to on average be hotter than rural habitations.

What are steps taken by the government to handle heat stress?

Some states, led by Gujarat, have Heat Action Plans (HAP).

The National Disaster Management Authority is working with 23 out of 28 heat-prone States to develop HAPs. HAPs stress changes in the built environment by:

First, using material that keeps the indoors cooler

Second, having an early warning system about heatwaves

Third, improving health infrastructure to treat heat stroke patients.

What should be done?

Governments should take steps to plan infrastructure and housing in ways that recognize the dangers of a warming environment.

India should include financial incentives for effective cooling plans, preferably via Budget outlays.