Central teams to be sent to heatwave-affected states, ICMR to prepare plan to prevent deaths: Health Minister

The minister said directions have been given to create short term and long term action plans by officials from IMD and disaster management with the Indian Council of Medical Research taking the lead. After the meeting, Mandaviya said, “I have directed ICMR to prepare an action plan so that in future there are no deaths due to heatwave and heat stroke.”

At least 68 people in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia are suspected to have died due to heatwave over the last few days.

The minister further said he will also hold a video conference meeting with the disaster management officials and health ministers of India’s eastern states such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar and Jharkhand, where heatwave is likely to continue.

The India Meteorological Department in its forecast on Tuesday said that heatwave conditions are likely to continue in some pockets over east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam in Puducherry, and Telangana on Tuesday. It is also likely to continue till Wednesday in parts of Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh. The heatwave conditions will abate after that, according to IMD.

“As there was a possibility of heatwave in the country, the Prime Minister took a meeting in February and the Central government and states were asked to come up with an action plan to prevent heat strokes. An advisory was issued by the health ministry in February itself and the states were asked to keep a watch,” the minister said, adding that the ministry had started work on a National Action Plan on heat-related illnesses since 2021.

There were 30 heat-related deaths reported by IMD in 2022, accounting for 1 per cent of the total deaths due to extreme weather conditions. However, a heatwave in 2015 had been severe with over 2,000 deaths reported.

Heat action plans

Dr Dileep Mavlankar, former director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, whose team developed one of the first heat action plans in the country for Ahmedabad, said heat action plans if implemented well can reduce the mortality. His team showed that following a similar plan resulted in a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in mortality in Ahmedabad.

“What does a heat action plan entail? First is prediction. Predicting heatwave conditions and informing people about it is the first step, Dr Mavalankar said. Even though IMD disseminates five-day warnings, he said there is a need for local governments to invest in generating localised weather data. “Usually the temperature recorded by IMD is from near the city airport, which could be up to 2-3 degrees Celsius less than what would be seen in the centre of the city because of the urban heat island effect (higher temperatures because of dense buildings and human activities),” he said.

Once this information is available, it should be disseminated widely to people along with simple steps they can follow. “People have to be advised to stay home if possible and if they have to go out, they should be advised to wear light clothing, carry water with them, and take breaks while doing strenuous work.”

He added, “For those who are old and co-morbid, even staying indoors can be a problem in the absence of air conditioning. They should sit with their feet in water or use a damp cloth to keep their body cool.”

There is also a need to look at the humidity levels and night temperatures. This is because when the atmosphere is humid, evaporation of sweat that allows the body to cool down doesn’t happen. This is the reason even lower temperatures might feel hot in humid areas, Dr Mavalankar said.

Dos and don’ts during a heatwave. (Source: National Disaster Management Authority)