Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised states and Union territories to prepare action plans at each administrative level -- state, city and district -- to deal with the persisting high temperatures across the country, said a release from his office (PMO) on Thursday.
Officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) briefed the PM at a meeting about the temperatures in March-May, 2022, across the country and preparations for the monsoon, said the statement.
“In view of the rising temperatures, regular hospital fire safety audits need to be done. PM spoke about the need to work to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards, enhance the capabilities of forest personnel and institutions for timely detection of a possible fire and for fighting fires, and to speed up recovery after a fire event,” read the statement.
To be prepared for the upcoming monsoon, which usually begins on June 1, all states have been advised to prepare flood preparedness plans and undertake appropriate measures. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been advised to develop a deployment plan in flood-affected states, added the statement.
Among those who attended the meeting were the PM’s principal secretary and advisors, the cabinet secretary as well as secretaries of the ministries of home, health and jal shakti and the chiefs of the IMD, NDMA and NDRF.
{{/usCountry}}Among those who attended the meeting were the PM’s principal secretary and advisors, the cabinet secretary as well as secretaries of the ministries of home, health and jal shakti and the chiefs of the IMD, NDMA and NDRF.
{{/usCountry}}The heatwave spell over India began in March and recurred in four spells — March 11 to 19, March 27 to April 12, April 17 to 19, and April 26 to 30.
In April, several parts of northwest India recorded temperatures above 45°C. Around 14 stations in different parts of the country reported record high temperatures. India, on average, recorded its warmest March days in 122 years with the maximum temperature across the country clocking in at 1.86°C above normal, an analysis by IMD had shown. Northwest and central India have experienced the hottest April this season in 122 years.
Surface land temperatures exceeded 60°C over some parts of northwest India, according to imagery captured by INSAT 3D, Copernicus Sentinel 3 and a NASA satellite on April 29 (Saturday). The finding raised concerns among several scientists about the severe impacts of the heatwave.
On Thursday, the World Meteorological Organization tweeted: “The globe just had the 6th warmest April on record, according to @CopernicusECMWF. Much above-average temperatures from North-Eastern Africa across Middle East to central and southern Asia, and especially in #Pakistan and northern #India. #ClimateChange.”
The Copernicus Project, an earth observation programme run by the European Union, said pre-monsoon temperatures were exceptionally high over Pakistan and northern India, following record highs in March; the heatwave led to critical water and power shortages as well as damage to crops.
Heatwave conditions were also experienced in Egypt and Sudan. High spring temperatures were reported in the Central Asian Republics. Temperatures were also much higher than average over Greenland, easternmost Russia, and the Ross and Weddell sectors of Antarctica. This April was 0.28°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average for April.