{"id":333682,"date":"2025-04-21T19:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T14:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=333682"},"modified":"2025-04-23T17:00:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T11:30:50","slug":"heatwaves-are-hurting-health-work-and-equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/heatwaves-are-hurting-health-work-and-equity\/","title":{"rendered":"Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity has been created, based on the article \u201cTackle heatwaves with short- and long-term measures<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 21 April 2025. Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Heatwaves<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS Paper 2- Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector\/Services relating to Health<\/p>\n

Context<\/strong>: India experienced its first severe heatwave of 2025 on March 15\u201420 days earlier than in 2024.<\/strong> Rising temperatures, frequent heatwaves, and worsening heat stress are threatening public health, economic productivity, and social equity. This growing crisis demands urgent, people-focused solutions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For detailed information on Heatwaves in India<\/strong> read this article here<\/a><\/p>\n

Rising Heatwaves and Their Impact<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Frequency and Intensity of Heatwaves: <\/strong>Severe heatwaves are rising in India. The year 2024 was the warmest on record globally.<\/strong> December 2022 was India’s hottest December since 1901.<\/strong> This shows a clear increase in the frequency and severity of heat events over the last two decades.<\/li>\n
  2. Heat Stress and the Human Body: <\/strong>Heat stress occurs when the external temperature nears the body<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s 37<\/strong>\u00b0<\/strong>C.<\/strong> The body fails to release internal heat, leading to stress. It can damage organs like the brain, liver, and kidneys<\/strong>, and may result in death.<\/li>\n
  3. Impact on Agriculture and Labour: <\/strong>High temperatures make farming difficult<\/strong>, reduce harvests, and harm livestock. India, with labour-intensive sectors<\/strong> like agriculture and construction, faces job losses and reduced income due to lower working capacity.<\/li>\n
  4. Loss of Work and GDP: <\/strong>About 75% of India<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s workforce (around 380 million people)<\/strong> is exposed to heat. In 2023, nearly 6% of work hours<\/strong> were lost to heat stress. Economic losses due to heat are estimated at 3\u20135% of GDP<\/strong> in countries like India.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    5.,Energy Strain and Economic Disruption: <\/strong>Rising heat increases electricity demand and causes power cuts. This disrupts industrial production and slows national economic growth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Equity and Social Inequality: The poor, migrants, elderly, women<\/strong>, and informal workers are most affected. Women face extra risk due to indoor cooking, dress codes, and sleeping arrangements. Urban poor suffer more<\/strong> due to poor housing and heat-retaining surroundings.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Evolution and Gaps in Heat Action Plans (HAPs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Global Learnings Ignored Initially: <\/strong>As early as the mid-19th century<\/strong>, scientists observed that urban areas are hotter than rural ones.<\/strong> But formal Heat and Health Action Plans (HHAPs) emerged only between 2003\u20132008<\/strong> in Europe, mainly in non-tropical regions.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      2. India’s First Step: Ahmedabad launched Asia<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s first HAP in 2013.<\/strong> Now, 23 states and 140 cities<\/strong> in India have heat action plans. The National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) also provides advisories.<\/li>\n
      3. Plan Components: <\/strong>Most HAPs include early alerts, public awareness, health system preparedness<\/strong>, urban greening, and heat data tracking.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      4. Key Gaps: <\/strong>Implementation is weak in many areas. Coordination is lacking, and data collection is poor<\/strong>, limiting effectiveness.<\/li>\n
      5. Way Forward: <\/strong>Indian HAPs should adopt global best practices<\/strong>, include humidity<\/strong> in assessments, use local vulnerability data<\/strong>, and be activated by early March.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Recommendations for Strengthening Heat Responses<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. Update and Localize HAPs: <\/strong>States should revise plans yearly, based on humidity and local risk mapping.<\/strong> Clear roles must be assigned.<\/li>\n
        2. Improve Data Collection: <\/strong>More precise data is needed to identify at-risk locations and people.<\/strong> This allows for better targeting and saving lives.<\/li>\n
        3. Use Better Alert Systems<\/strong>: <\/strong>India should adopt systems like the UK\u2019s Heat Health Alert<\/strong>, using both day and night temperatures<\/strong> for issuing timely warnings.<\/li>\n
        4. Strengthen Infrastructure: <\/strong>Promote cool building materials and better urban design.<\/strong> Provide financial support to informal workers<\/strong>during heatwaves.<\/li>\n
        5. Context-Specific Advisories:?<\/strong>\u201cStay indoors\u201d may not help the urban poor in dense areas.<\/strong> Heat advisories must match local geography and living conditions.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        6. People-Centric Innovations<\/strong>: <\/strong>Create summer shelters<\/strong> and promote cool roof policies.<\/strong> Encourage science-backed cooling solutions.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        7. Enable Supportive Work Environments: <\/strong>Ensure drinking water, ORS<\/strong>, and flexible work hours. Outdoor work should pause during peak heat.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Heatwaves require a shift from short-term relief to long-term planning.<\/strong> Cities must invest in cost-effective adaptation, better coordination<\/strong>, and adopt a people-first approach.<\/strong> Recognizing heatwaves as an equity issue<\/strong> is essential to reduce the health and economic toll of rising temperatures.<\/p>\n

          Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Examine how rising heatwaves in India are impacting public health, economic productivity, and social equity, and suggest long-term strategies to address these challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Source: The post Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity has been created, based on the article \u201cTackle heatwaves with short- and long-term measures\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 21 April 2025. Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2- Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector\/Services relating… Continue reading Heatwaves are hurting health work and equity<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":333920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[300,212,10498],"class_list":["post-333682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Heatwaves-are-hurting-health-work-and-equity.png?fit=1280%2C850&ssl=1","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}