India to launch its own heat index next year to quantify heat hazard

Source: The post is based on the article “India to launch its own heat index next year to quantify heat hazard” published in The Hindu on 5th May 2023

What is the News?

India will launch its own composite Heat Index next year to quantify the impact of heat on its population and generate impact-based heatwave alerts for specific locations.

About Heat Index

To be launched by: India Meteorological Department (IMD) 

Aim: To quantify the impact of heat on its population and generate impact-based heatwave alerts for specific locations.

Parameters: The index will take into account parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind and duration of exposure.

Significance: The analysis will help generate heat hazard scores which will be utilized as thresholds to issue impact-based heatwave alerts for specific locations.

About Heat Waves in India

According to IMD data, there was a 24% increase in the number of heat waves during 2010-2019 compared to 2000-2009. However, there is a decreasing trend after 2015.

Between 2000 and 2019, the mortality rate for tropical cyclones decreased by 94% whereas it increased by 62.2% for heat waves.

The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the major climate risk for South Asian countries will be the rising mortality rate due to heat waves.

A moderate increase in average temperatures or a slight increase in the duration of heat waves will lead to a significant increase in the mortality rate in India unless remedial and response measures are taken.

However, heat waves are yet to be notified as a natural disaster at the national level in the country.