BHUBANESWAR: With summer in the state capital gradually turning hotter, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to conduct a health and economic impact assessment in the city to initiate better heat adaptation actions.
Tasked with carrying out the assessment, New Delhi-based Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) has recently given a detailed presentation to the civic body in this regard.
The study has been planned to be carried out in 38 wards, 13 each in North and Southeast zones, and 12 in southwest zone with around 4,200 households from 96 slums and low income settlements as the sample size.
A BMC official said the study is expected to help the civic body in devising coping strategies for residents, especially the lower income groups and vulnerable sections prone to the adverse impact of heat in terms of health and economy. It will find interventions that are most effective in reducing heat stress and heat-health risks in cost-effective and socially acceptable ways.
With its green cover depleting fast, Bhubaneswar is gradually turning into a burning deck. The city’s temperature soared past of 44.6 degree Celsius on April 27 this year.
The heat index prepared by the civic body with the help of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) last year had found nearly two dozen wards in the capital city that are prone to severe heat conditions.
Earlier this year, the SwitchON Foundation, that works in the field of conservation and sustainable livelihoods, in its study had found headache, dizziness, nausea and rash to be commonly-noticed health issues due to heatwave in urban areas of the state including Bhubaneswar. The study underlined that heatwave leaves significant economic strain for nearly 33 per cent of individuals in urban ares.