NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court took notice of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) drawing attention to the loss of more than 700 lives from heatwaves in 2024. It requested a response from the Centre regarding a plea that seeks directives for the strict implementation of national guidelines to develop an action plan for managing heatwave conditions.
A bench consisting of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih issued a notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the National Disaster Management Authority, and other relevant bodies, asking for their response within two weeks.
The plea, filed by environmental activist Vikrant Tongad, also requested directions to establish facilities for forecasting, issuing heat alerts, creating early warning systems, and providing round-the-clock helplines for redressal, among other measures.
The petitioner's lawyer, Akash Vashishtha, informed the court that over 700 people died from heat-related stress last year. He called for timely warnings and the establishment of a continuous redressal helpline to help mitigate the damage caused by heat-related stress.
The Indian Meteorological Department has been issuing monthly and seasonal warnings related to heatwaves. These predictions consistently indicate an increasing number of intense heatwave days, which is leading to more fatalities.
Vashistha has pointed current heat wave preventive management is not enough to deal with rising and intense heat stress.
It has highlighted many states and union territories yet to implement mandated heat action plan under National Guidelines for Preparation of Action Plan ' Prevention and Management of Heatwave, 2019, issued by theNational Disaster Management Authority.
Further, it also underlined the Centre's statutory responsibilities under Section 35 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which requires the government to take appropriate measures for disaster management.
Additionally, Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, obliges the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to act decisively to protect and improve environmental quality.
Pointing out that the escalating heatwave crisis was linked to climate change, the plea sought compensation to the victims of heat-related illness and provided minimum wages or other social and financial security to the vulnerable classes during the extreme heat periods.
The petitioner has also pointed out the study done by Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD,and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune in 2023 which projected that the risk of heatwaves is estimated to increase tenfold in India in the 21st centuryand that more than 70 per cent of the land area in the country isexpected to be affected by heatwaves.
The study further warns that future climate warming will lead to a significant increase in heat-related mortality, especially in developing countries like India, where heatwaves will be more frequent.