In throes of heat wave, states must steady response systems
With about a third of the country in its grip, a staggering heat wave has once again exposed the poor resilience of Indian states to a disastrous summer. Almost 100 deaths are being investigated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the vulnerable populace has found itself at the mercy of nature. A top government doctor in UP’s Ballia found himself transferred for linking the casualties to a heat wave.
Sunstroke deaths are difficult to confirm, which is why accurate reporting always remains a daunting task.
But the past is replete with examples of the phenomenon’s brutal nature. In 2019, Bihar alone recorded over 180 deaths. This year, the warning signs were palpable early. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a severe heat wave, and the forecast held true. Eastern UP, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana bore the brunt as the mercury smashed records in June.
Bihar reported some of the hottest days in the last 10 years, and the heat wave footprint doubled in Odisha. The unforgiving conditions have lingered for far more days than expected, turning this summer deadly. In Odisha, Jharkhand, Telangana and AP, the killer weather had an uninterrupted run for nine to 12 days. A tardy monsoon, held back by cyclonic storm Biparjoy, has not helped. Poor rainfall in June has left vast swathes of the country in despair and exacerbated the people’s suffering. The latest data shows 50% of districts in India reported highly deficient rainfall, while 8% have had no rainfall this month.
The IMD forecasts that the unbearable conditions will abate as the monsoon advances. But the lessons must not be forgotten. As climate change pushes the temperature upwards across the Indian subcontinent, more such events will follow in the years to come. Heat wave-related mortalities, though, can be prevented with a robust early warning and mitigation mechanism. France, which struggled with a killer heat wave in 2003, installed heat warning systems that helped reduce deaths when a similar wave revisited three years later. In 1998, Odisha recorded a whopping 2000-odd sunstroke deaths, but the state, a champion of disaster management, has successfully dealt with the crisis ever since. Mass awareness is key to making it happen. States must heed the perils of global warming and firm up response systems at the grassroots level.