The heat is on: India to become 2-4 degrees C warmer, say scientists | Health - Hindustan Times
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The heat is on: India to become 2-4 degrees C warmer, say scientists

Indo Asian News Service | By
Jun 22, 2017 04:25 PM IST

Scientists warn that heatwaves due to climate change and global warming could be the norm for India,and temperatures may rise by 2-4 degrees C. But heat deaths can be prevented.

US President Donald Trump may dismiss global warming as a hoax and recently pulled his country out of the Paris Climate Agreement. But global warming is affecting people across the globe. Some of its major effects are being seen in India.

In 2017, heatwaves in late March swept through nine states of India.(HT file photo)
In 2017, heatwaves in late March swept through nine states of India.(HT file photo)

Scientists who studied India’s 2015 heatwave that claimed 2,500 lives (over 1,700 in Andhra Pradesh alone) concluded that the region was likely to see intense heatwaves once in every 10 years, instead of once in every 100 years. The next year turned out to be India’s hottest ever, since record-keeping began in 1901. And earlier in 2017, summer got off to an unprecedented intense start, as heatwaves in late March swept through nine states.

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With 13 of India’s 15 hottest years on record occurring since 2002, intense heat appears to be the new normal. India simply cannot afford to ignore the new health and livelihood challenges global warming will present to “people who are no strangers to warm weather but who will now face more severe heatwaves intensified by climate change”, as Dileep Mavalankar, 59, director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, India’s first public health university in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, told IndiaSpend.

Heat deaths can be prevented through public education and extreme heat warnings. (AP)
Heat deaths can be prevented through public education and extreme heat warnings. (AP)

If heatwaves are perceived as a disaster-like situation with the potential to kill thousands, heat deaths are preventable. In 2014, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation pioneered South Asia’s first Heat Action Plan. “Combining public education, extreme heat warnings and efforts to safeguard the most vulnerable populations is proving to be a good template for other cities and states to follow,” said Mavalankar of the Heat Action Plan that his colleagues and the Natural Resources Defence Council are supporting. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: How reliable are heatstroke mortality figures in the media, and why do these fluctuate so much from year to year?

A: Heatwave fatalities are not well documented in India. The fatality numbers that the civil administration releases to the media are below the actual number of people who succumb to excessive heat. One reason for this is death recording in our country is far from perfect. People who have not been directly exposed to the sun but have been exposed to high ambient temperature can also suffer heatstroke.

In Ahmedabad, where we have studied the number and cause of fatalities, we know that about 100 people die of all causes on any given day in summer. During the heatwave of 2010, the city’s five municipal hospitals attributed 65 fatalities to heatstroke during the week. But we estimated that the heat caused 800 additional deaths in that week.

The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon whereby concrete buildings and traffic enclose the heat in a limited space. (Shutterstock)
The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon whereby concrete buildings and traffic enclose the heat in a limited space. (Shutterstock)

Q: Of what use is it to tell poor people to take shelter, when they may be living on the road with no resources to protect themselves?

A: We are aware that the urban poor are extremely vulnerable to heatstroke. In Ahmedabad, we proposed that municipal gardens be kept open between 11 am and 5 pm, a time when they usually remain closed to the public, with the idea that homeless people and working class people with jobs in their vicinity would find shade and a place to rest under trees. For the same reason, we requested the administration to keep the city’s 45 night shelters open during the day.

Over 900 water facilities were also created. An initiative driven by the mayor was asking paint companies to donate white paint to coat the roof of poor people’s houses. White-painted roofs reflect more sunlight, which helps keep interiors cool.

Q: Densely populated areas are said to be generally hotter than rural areas. What temperature difference have you recorded between rural areas and urban areas?

A: In summer, we have found that Ahmedabad records temperatures that are usually 2-3 degrees Centigrade higher, even up to 4 degrees higher than the surrounding areas because of the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon whereby concrete buildings and traffic enclose the heat in a limited space. Rural areas around the city with more vegetation and water bodies see lower temperatures.

However, the majority of residents of urban areas spend less time outdoors and have more resources and utilities (such as water, cooling devices, hospitals) to rely on for their well-being. Heat fatalities can happen in both urban and rural areas. Recently, we have also started pilot testing a heat action plan for rural blocks of Rajasthan with the help of Unicef.

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