Finance Commission refuses to include extreme heat on list of natural disasters
Earth sciences ministry informed Lok Sabha that extreme heat is not yet considered a natural disaster eligible for assistance. Heat wave deaths are reducing due to better weather prediction.
The 15th finance commission did not find much merit in the request to expand the scope of disasters eligible for financial assistance and hence extreme heat is not yet considered to be a natural disaster or calamity eligible for assistance, the earth sciences ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Responding to another question, the ministry added that heat wave deaths are reducing in the country due to better weather prediction.
Congress leader from Jharkhand and MP Sukhdeo Bhagat asked the minister of earth sciences, Jitendra Singh details of the deaths caused due to heatwaves from 2013 till date, by state, and steps being taken or proposed to be taken by the government to tackle heatwaves , and whether there is any proposal to classify heatwaves as a national calamity.
“Presently the notified list of disasters eligible for National Disaster Response Fund/State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance, includes 12 disasters namely cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst, pest attack and frost and cold wave. The issue of inclusion of more calamities in the existing notified list of calamities, was considered by the 15thFinance Commission. The Commission in para 8.143 of its report had observed that the list of notified disasters eligible for funding from State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) and National Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (NDRMF) covers the needs of the state to large extent and thus did not find much merit in the request to expand its scope,” Singh responded.
However, a sate can use up to 10% of the annual funds allocation of SDRF, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions , to provide immediate relief to the victims of natural disasters that they consider to be disasters within the local and immediate context, and which are not included in the centrally notified list of natural disasters, he added.
Jitendra Singh added that the increase in heat waves is linked to climate change. “It is a fact that annual temperature is increasing globally, and the impact of the same is reflected in the increase in heatwaves in various parts of the globe, including India.”
As expected following an extreme summer with an unusually high number of heat wave days and warm nights, there were several questions on heat wave mapping. The ministry did not release heat wave death data for this year or even 2023. According to heat wave/ sun stroke report accessed from Home Ministry indicates there were 890 deaths in 2018; 1274 deaths in 2019; 530 in 2020; 374 in 2021; and 730 in 2022.
But the ministry also claimed that heat wave deaths are reducing in the country. In response to a question by Janasena Party MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry , Singh said that “as per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB, Ministry of Home Affairs) report, the highest number of deaths (1908) associated with heatwaves in the Indian region occurred in 2015. The details are provided in the Annexure-1. It has been reduced since then due to seamless weather prediction of temperature, and early warning alters for the heatwave conditions by IMD, and the implementation of the heat action plan by the National Disaster Management Authority.”
IMD has taken various steps to improve monitoring and early warning systems, which helped minimize loss of life and property during extreme weather events, including heatwaves. These include--issuing seasonal and monthly outlook, followed by extended range forecast of temperature and heatwave conditions, a district-wise heatwave vulnerability Atlas , hot weather hazard analysis over India that includes daily temperature, winds, and humidity condition, heat index forecast for the entire country, and impact-based forecast of heatwave conditions at district levels among others, the ministry told Bhagat.
This June was the warmest in northwest India since record keeping began in 1901 according to IMD (India Meteorological Department). Compared to a normal three to four days of heat wave, parts of Indo-Gangetic plains, northwest India, central and north India recorded 10-18 heat wave days in June. Uttar Pradesh recorded 18 heat wave days; Bihar 13; Gangetic West Bengal 9; Delhi, Haryana 14; Punjab 11; and Himachal Pradesh, 10 days. The deadly heat spell recorded over Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of northwest India killed at least 100 people.