Context

Recently, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an advisory on the heatwaves and revealed a terrific image of rising heat wave conditions in multiple areas — from Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh to the western parts of Madhya Pradesh.

IMD Alert On Heat Waves in India 

• The IMD warned that heatwave spells could last 10-20 days, instead of four to eight days.
• In 2022, the country experienced its hottest March since 1901.

Time for Heat Action Plans (HAPs)

• Began: In May 2010, a heat wave claimed more than 800 lives in Ahmedabad, which pushed the city’s municipality to partner with the Indian Institute of Public Health and American academies to develop the country’s first heat action plan (HAP) in 2013. 
• About: Heat Action Plans (HAPs) are India’s primary policy response to economically damaging and life threatening heat waves. 
• Aim: To decrease the impact of heatwaves, HAPs prescribe a variety of preparatory activities, disaster responses, and post-heatwave response measures across state, district, and city government departments.
• Focus: 
  • Creating an early warning system
  • Increasing the capacity of healthcare professionals
  • Promoting adaptive measures in workplaces and creating awareness 

Challenges with Heat Action Plans (HAPs)

• Fail to Identify Targets: 

  • Nearly all Heat Action Plans (HAPs) fail to identify and target vulnerable groups.
    • Only two HAPs carry out and present vulnerability assessments (systematic studies to locate where the people most likely to be affected are in a city, district, or state). 

• No Focus on Vulnerables: 

  • While most HAPs list broad categories of vulnerable groups (elderly, outdoor workers, pregnant women), the list of solutions they propose do not necessarily focus on these groups.

• Underfunding: 

• • As per a report of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), HAPs are underfunded and only three of 37 HAPs identify funding sources while eight HAPs ask implementing departments to self-allocate resources, “indicating a serious funding constraint”.

• Not Requirement Specific: 

  • Most HAPs adopt national heatwave thresholds that may not be suited to the risks faced by local populations and there is no climate projection.
    • HAPs across the country generally focus on dry extreme heat and ignore the threats posed by humid heat and warm nights. 
    • As per a report of the CPR, Only 10 out of 37 HAPs seem to have locally specified temperature thresholds. 

• Weak Legal Foundations & Accountability: 

• • The CPR further finds that the HAPs have weak legal foundations. None of the HAPs reviewed indicate the legal sources of their authority. 
    • This reduces bureaucratic incentives to prioritise and comply with HAPs instructions. 
    • There is no national repository of HAPs and very few HAPs are listed online. 
    • It is also unclear whether these HAPs are being updated periodically and whether this is based on evaluation data.

Way Forward

• National Joint Actions: These are must for heat mitigation are necessary to ensure the safety of lives and livelihoods amid extreme weather conditions.
• Follow a Sustainable Approach: As per experts, the primary objective should be a sustainable and equal future. 
• Need for Climate Projections: It could help to identify future planning needs and combat the threat of intensifying heat waves.
• Work on Missing Areas: India has made considerable progress by creating several dozen heat action plans in the last decade, but India needs to work on the findings of loopholes, revealed by the CPR to eliminate the damaging social and economic losses due to frequent and intense heat waves. 
• Accountability and Transparency: There is a need for an online national repository that should be periodically updated and in accordance with region-specific needs.
  • Bureaucratics need incentives to prioritise and comply with HAPs instructions.
• Adequate Funding: HAPs need to be funded adequately to implement the required and desired actions.