90% of India is in 'danger' range of heatwave impacts, says study

As of now, nearly 90% of the country lies in the danger zone and almost all of Delhi is undergoing severe impact from the heatwave

Heatwaves across the globe are rising by the day, thus becoming more lethal and intense due to climate change. April 2022 stands as the hottest summer witnessed in 122 years, leading to at least 25 deaths. The cumulative heatwave-related mortality in India is over 24,000 deaths since 1992, as per PLOS Climate.

As of now, nearly 90% of the country lies in the danger zone and almost all of Delhi is undergoing severe impact from the heatwave. In 2022, from the month of January to October, the country recorded extreme heat condition on 242 days out of 273, which include co-occurrence of heatwave as well as coldwaves.

In India, heatwaves have known to occur particularly in the period of March to June. On an average, about two to three heatwaves take place every season. Climate change and global warming, current research suggests, have increased the probability of heatwaves in the past three decades.

Also Read: As India swelters, government data on related mortality remains inconsistent

These heatwaves are bound to affect the country’s progress towards its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). India has committed to achieving 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including eliminating poverty, promoting good health and wellbeing, decent work and economic growth, quality education, among others.

In order to analyse the climate vulnerability of the country, and how climate change may impact SDG progress, the scientists compared India’s heat index (HI) with its climate vulnerability index, (CVI), using various indicators to account for socioeconomic, livelihood, and other biophysical factors.

PLOS Climate used a dataset that was publicly available on state level climate vulnerability indicators from the Indian Government’s National Data & Analytics Platform. The progress of the SDGs was measured amidst these rising heatwaves, the results of which showed that in the last 20 years, from 2001 to 2021, the progress of SGD with respect to the mortality due to these extreme weather conditions stated that while the effect of extreme weather events has intensified, the pace of SDG progress is slower.

From 2019 to 2021, India’s global SGD rank is seen to be declining because the country failed to achieve the targets for 11 out of 17 SGD, out of which most were critically related to taking action towards climate change.

Speaking of the national capital, assessment by the Delhi government states that South and North-east Delhi are highly vulnerable areas, most susceptible to the impacts of climate change. However, the analysis by PLOS Climate states that the entire city is in the danger zone of HI levels.

India ranks Delhi as the second best performer in terms of UN-SGD progress, but with the risk that its HI carries, this ranking is highly threatened.

So far, India has demonstrated impeccable leadership in creating heat action plans in the past 5 years through disaster management and providing relief resources. Along with these, many states have even begun to adopt the new guidelines for prevention and management of the ever rising heatwaves.