THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Summer is yet to hit Kerala, but the scorching sun has already made lives difficult for Keralites.
As maximum temperatures touched 37 degrees Celsius across the state, the IMD yet again issued yellow alerts in nine districts for Tuesday. The state also reported around 17 cases of sunburns and heat rashes so far this month.
IMD said maximum temperatures are very likely to be around 37 degrees Celsius in Palakkad, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kozhikode and around 36 degree Celsius in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur. The maximum temperature is likely to be 2 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal, the agency warned. It had issued a similar warning for eight districts on Monday.
Except in hilly areas, the high temperature and humidity are likely to lead to hot weather, triggering health concerns for vulnerable groups – infants, elderly, people with chronic diseases, and those who are exposed to the sun for prolonged periods or are undertaking taxing work.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) had come up with a Heat Action Plan (HAP) in 2020. However, the state government is yet to take long-term measures to make Kerala heat resilient. Local self-government institutions are yet to come up with localised heat action plans to improve preparedness.
A senior KSDMA official told TNIE that the authority is gearing up to revise the HAP. KSDMA will hold a two-day meet from March 4 to 5 to revise the HAP and devise long-term solutions.
“We carried out a study with the help of an expert institute to get long-term temperature projection. The HAP will be updated based on its report. Now, we have a better understanding of the heat situation in Kerala in future. The state should be more resilient to heat. We aim to achieve that,” he said.
Unavailability of data on heat-related events is a major challenge faced by KSDMA. “We trained health officials for improved reporting of heat-related events which is crucial for future planning. Last year too we didn’t get updates of such events,” said a source.
Meanwhile, the government has directed the local self-government department to get feedback on the effectiveness of ‘Thanneer pandals’ they had set up last year to distribute water, ORS and buttermilk among people. A department official said the government will consider setting up the pandals this year too after getting the feedback.
Heat clinics
A recent chief secretary-level meeting directed the health department to come up with a plan to start heat clinics across the state and submit it to the government. The intention is to set up the clinics in public sector hospitals, including medical colleges, general hospitals, taluk hospitals, and family and community health centres.
Districts on alert
Palakkad, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kozhikode: 37 degrees Celsius
T’Puram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur: 36 degrees Celsius (2-4 degrees Celsius above normal)