HYDERABAD: The state government has declared heatwave as a state-specific disaster and decided to offer an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the families of persons who die due to heatwave or sunstroke.
Special Chief Secretary for Disaster Management, Arvind Kumar, issued orders to this effect on Tuesday.
The orders stated that as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) criteria, a heatwave is considered when the maximum temperature at a station reaches at least 40ºC with a departure from normal of 5ºC to 6ºC. A severe heatwave is declared when the departure from normal is 7ºC or more. The IMD specifies that when the actual maximum temperature remains 45 degrees Celsius or more, irrespective of the normal maximum temperature, a heatwave should be declared.
It also noted that the IMD has informed that during the April to June hot weather season, an above-normal number of heatwave days is likely across most parts of the north and east peninsula, central India, east India and the plains of northwest India. Above-normal heatwave days are expected in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the northern parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The orders stated: “In Telangana, during 2024, it was observed that, except for five districts, the remaining 28 districts experienced at least 15 days of heatwaves, with Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalli and Jagtial recording more than 30 days. Additionally, the debilitating effect of heatwaves is exacerbated in urban areas due to the Urban Heat Island effect and the Wet Bulb effect (which combines heat and humidity). People, especially construction workers and daily wage earners in Hyderabad, Warangal, all municipal corporations, the Hyderabad urban agglomeration and other urban local bodies, are vulnerable to heatwaves and sunstrokes.”
It further stated that while all districts have prepared district-specific heatwave action plans and equipped vulnerable points with ORS packets, drinking water kiosks (chalivendrams) and are issuing advisories on dos and don’ts, it was felt that, in the absence of a notification declaring heatwave as a disaster, the necessary relief in the form of ex gratia to families of deceased persons from heatwave or sunstroke could not be provided.
Until now, the state had been offering only Rs 50,000 under the Apadbandhu scheme to families of those who died due to heatwave or sunstroke. The people most affected are those who work outdoors during peak summer or belong to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and this amount was not considered adequate, the order stated.