Heatwaves Should Be Included in Disaster Management Plans, Says Parliamentary Panel

The government at the center has been recommended by a parliamentary panel to add heatwaves and other contemporary-era calamities to its policy on disasters. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, in a report submitted to the Rajya Sabha recently, has called for a change in the list of notified disasters so as to encompass new-age climate threats.

The panel suggested the formulation of a mechanism for periodically updating and revising the list of disasters to prepare in advance for any scenario and respond instantly. It further suggested consultation with experts, stakeholders, and the affected public to make disaster management policies more effective. The panel, which was led by BJP Rajya Sabha member Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, also emphasized long-term preparation for disasters keeping in mind climate change and rising frequencies of extreme weather events.

The report put special emphasis on investment in disaster-resilient infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and transport systems to reduce damage and speed up the recovery process. The existing list of disasters to be supported by relief funds from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) include cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, fire, floods, tsunamis, hailstorms, landslides, avalanches, cloudbursts, attack by pests, frost, and cold waves. But state governments can utilize up to 10% of their SDRF for other natural calamities not in the central list subject to the fulfillment of some conditions.

A few states had already gone to the Centre to add heatwaves, lightning, river and coastal erosion, and public health crises like Japanese encephalitis, Nipah virus, and COVID-19 to the list of notified disasters. But the 15th Finance Commission was opposed to adding heatwaves to the list of notified disasters.

India has been witnessing increasingly intense heatwaves. Government figures show that 10,635 individuals lost their lives due to extreme heat and sunstroke from 2013 to 2023. India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that 536 heatwave days were documented in 2023, the most in 14 years. India experienced 41,789 suspected cases of heatstroke and 143 heat-related fatalities during a particularly hot summer.

The IMD has predicted another year of temperatures above average in most regions for 2025. This has come as warning that no coordinated heat action plans are in place, nor the funding for the management of heatwaves. Though states have introduced localized heat action plans, no national designation as a disaster is in place, limiting finance and coordination.

The suggestion by the parliamentary panel to incorporate heatwaves in policy for disaster management is a positive step towards better preparedness. The report asks for anticipatory action, including better urban planning, early warning systems, and heat-affected community funds. As climate change makes weather extremes more severe, a well-coordinated and adequately funded response is required to safeguard vulnerable groups.

Source: PTI