Heatwave

• In Mumbai, heatstroke recently claimed the lives of eleven people.
• The incident re-emphasizes the dangers associated with heat waves, whose frequency and intensity are predicted to increase due to climate change.
• The European Space Agency observed land surface temperatures in May 2022 that were close to 55 °C in various areas of northwest India and even reached 60 °C in certain places. The last ten years have seen five of India's five warmest years on record.
• In addition, high temperatures, little rain, and humidity have increased discomfort levels, making life even more difficult for individuals without access to cooling facilities. Heat stress shouldn't be a surprise any longer. It necessitates a thorough reaction.

About Heatwave

• A heatwave is a period of unusually high temperatures. They often occur in India from May through June, and in a few rare instances, they can even last into July.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) divides the country into different temperature zones to categorise heat waves.According to IMD, there were 413 heatwave days in India between 1981 and 1990, whereas there were 600 days between 2011 and 2020.
• The rising effects of climate change are to blame for this substantial increase in the number of heatwave days.

About Heat stroke

• The overheating of the body as a result of exposure to high temperatures and humidity, or as a result of sustained physical exertion at high temperatures, causes a heat stroke or sunstroke.
• A heat stroke is regarded as a medical emergency that needs to be treated right away.

How?

• The body's core temperature rises when the body is unable to sweat (particularly owing to high humidity) and cannot expel heat through evaporation.
• The body's core temperature can rise to 106 degrees Fahrenheit in a matter of minutes if it is unable to cool down.
• Serious health consequences, including death, may result from this.
• Heat exhaustion symptoms include tiredness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, low blood pressure, and tachycardia (rapid heartbeat).

What Standards Are Used to Declare a Heatwave?

• The term "Heatwave" is used when a station's maximum temperature reaches at least 40°C for plains regions and at least 30°C for hilly regions.

• An rise of 5 to 6°C above the normal temperature is regarded as a heat wave condition if the maximum normal temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40°C.

• Furthermore, a severe heat wave condition is defined as an increase in temperature of at least 7°C above average.

Impact of heat wave

• The frequent occurrence of heat waves also has a negative impact on various economic sectors.

• The loss of working days, for instance, has a severe effect on the livelihood of poor and marginal farmers.

• The economy is impacted by heatwaves because they have a negative effect on daily wage workers' output.

• Effects on the Agriculture Sector When temperatures rise above the optimal range, crop yields are harmed.

• Wheat crop losses were reported by farmers in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh during the most recent rabi season. Due to heat waves, wheat production in India may decline by 6–7%.

• Heatwaves can also harm livestock.

• Heat waves unavoidably affect the amount of electricity used.

• In North India, the daily average peak demand in April was 13% greater than in 2021, and in May it was 30% higher.

• Human Mortality: The causes of heat wave-related deaths include increasing temperatures, a lack of public awareness campaigns, and insufficient long-term mitigating efforts.

• A 2019 analysis from the University of Chicago and Tata Centre for Development predicts that by 2100, it's possible that more than 1.5 million people per year will pass away from heat-related causes owing to climate change.

• Diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, as well as issues with mental health, will all become more prevalent as a result of the increased heat.

Causes

• Global warming as well as local variables are to blame for the incidence of severe temperatures worldwide.
• Scientists have demonstrated how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worsen ocean temperatures, causing global temperatures to surge.
• GHG emissions from human activity are to blame for the current situation with extreme weather.
• Additionally, without human-caused climate change, heatwaves and wildfires are "unimaginable."

The possibility for severe heatwaves

• The end of the strong La Nina phase in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which has a general cooling influence on the earth's atmosphere, is expected to result in an abnormally hot summer this year.
• El Nino's potential occurrence: Recent predictions indicate that El Nino, which has the opposite effects of La Nina, is likely to start earlier than expected in the May–July timeframe.
• El Nino also frequently suppresses the monsoon season's rainfall across India.
• Despite the India Meteorological Department's forecast for a typical monsoon, a shortfall in precipitation is already anticipated, which might compound the consequences of a scorching summer.

recent government initiatives

• Monitoring and management: Over the past few years, heatwave monitoring and management have significantly improved, which has led to a significant decrease in the number of fatalities attributable to heatwaves.
• Nearly all at-risk states already have heat action plans in place, which primarily include early warning, the provision of water and ORS in public areas, and flexible working hours in workplaces and educational institutions.
• Early Warning Systems and Public Awareness: In order to reduce the number of fatalities caused by heat waves, it is important to raise public awareness through print, electronic, and social media, provide heat-proof shelters in summer in places that are prone to them, make public drinking water easier to get, and implement afforestation programmes in both urban and rural areas.

Way ahead

• A heat wave action plan is needed because of the detrimental effects of heat waves, which show that stronger disaster management policies and effective disaster adaption techniques are needed in heatwave zones to decrease the effects of heatwaves.

• Since heat-related deaths are avoidable, the government must give top priority to creating a long-term action plan to protect people, livestock, and wildlife.
• Due to climate change, population exposure to heat is rising and will keep rising.
• Globally, it has been noted that the frequency, length, and intensity of extreme temperature occurrences, such as heat waves, are rising.