NEW DELHI: A study has said that India’s efforts to mitigate heatwaves are “legally weak, under-funded and non-transparent”. It left millions of people helpless as heatwaves ravage the country year after year and kill thousands.
The report titled, ‘How Is India Adapting to Heatwaves?: An Assessment of Heat Action Plans With Insights for Transformative Climate Action’, has analysed all 37 heat action plans (HAPs) across 18
states. HAPs are India’s primary policy response to economically damaging and life-threatening heatwaves.
They prescribe a variety of preparatory activities, disaster responses, and post-heatwave response measures across states, districts and city government departments. Recently, the Inter-government Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Synthesis Report had urged the global community to reduce emissions in the next two decades to prevent warming temperatures to reach 1.5°C. It has been stated that human activities have unequivocally caused global warming, with the global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above industrial temperatures in 2011–2020.
The global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years. The report, prepared by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), analysed that the HAPs are not built considering the local context.
It focuses on extreme dry heat and ignores the threats posed by humid heat and warm nights. Only 10 out of 37 HAPs seem to have locally specified temperature thresholds. Climate projections, which could help identify future planning needs, are not integrated into current HAPs.
The HAPs are “underfunded and non-transparent”, it said. Only 3 of 37 HAPs identify funding sources, while others are directed to generate their own funds from allocated resources, the study added. The report analysed that HAPs have weak legal foundations, which would not motivate and prioritise HAPs instruction. It also fails to identify and target vulnerable groups.
Global surface temp rose fast since 1970s
The global surface temperature has increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2,000 years. The report, prepared by the CPR, analysed that the HAPs are not built considering the local context. Only 10 out of 37 HAPs seem to have locally specified temperature thresholds.