Delhi recorded 49.9 degrees Celsius in May 2024.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

For dealing with a heatwave, instead of a single agency, a collaboration between multiple agencies is needed, Rajendra Singh, the head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said on Thursday.

“Collaboration is the key, as no single agency can deal with heat waves alone. We need strong coordination and cooperation. The IMD [India Meteorological Department], NDMA, urban planners and health officials must come together on one platform,” Mr. Singh said during an international workshop.

Last year, more than 100 people died from heatwave, according to data from Union Health Ministry.

According to the IMD, a heat wave occurs when the actual maximum temperature is 45 degrees Celsius or more in the plains and 30 degrees Celsius or above in the hills. A heat wave can also occur when a region’s temperature is 4.5- 6.4 degrees Celsius higher than normal.

Mr Singh underlined that early warning must translate into early action at the government and community levels, and technology and innovation should be at the forefront.

During a heatwave, Mr Singh said, local context matters that change from one area to another. “Heatwave warning for West Bengal is not the same as for Rajasthan. Heat in the west coast and south is not the same as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. So, you have to keep regional temperature, humidity, and socio-economic factors as a part of SoPs [Standard Operating Procedures],” he added.

Mr. Singh opined that there was no point in issuing warnings or early warnings if the people did not understand the risk. “We have to use local languages like Hindi, Tamil, or Malayalam,” he advised.

NDMA Director Mrinalini Shrivastava said that eight States – Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, and Rajasthan – have notified the heatwave as a “local disaster,” which will help the State governments mobilize resources to deal with it. “We are encouraging other heat wave-prone States to notify the same for better access to resources,” she added.

The workshop was co-hosted by the ‘UNEP Cool Coalition’, a global multi stakeholder network that brings together national and international experts, policymakers and senior officials to share insights on best practices and case studies. 

Aditya Pillai, a visiting fellow at Sustainable Futures Collaborative, an independent research organisation, underlined the need for structural change as many government departments do not consider heat as part of their planning process, especially departments such as labour. He said this is because these departments see heat as a risk to be dealt by the health and disaster management department.