“Gaps in India’s heat action plans put vulnerable populations at risk” According to research, the current heat action plans are inadequate for addressing the risks faced by local populations.
Assessment Reveals Gaps in India’s Heat Action Plans, Putting Vulnerable Populations at Risk from Climate Crisis
- India experienced severe heatwaves in 2022 and February 2023 was declared the hottest month since 1901 by the India Meteorological Department.
- The Centre for Policy Research (CPR) conducted a critical assessment of heat action plans (HAPs) in 18 states in India.
- The CPR found that most HAPs may not be suitable for the risks faced by local populations.
- Additionally, nearly all HAPs failed to identify and target vulnerable groups.
- The CPR’s assessment follows closely the IPCC report on the climate crisis, which highlighted the urgent need to reduce emissions to prevent a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- The CPR evaluated all 37 HAPs across 18 states to assess how policy action is keeping up with the warming weather in India.
- Human-induced actions have increased the likelihood of extreme heat events in the Indian region by 30 times, according to a study by World Weather Attribution.
- The CPR’s report indicates that most Heat Action Plans (HAPs) are not tailored to local conditions and focus primarily on dry extreme heat, neglecting the risks posed by humid heat and warm nights.
- National heatwave thresholds adopted by most HAPs may not be appropriate for addressing the risks faced by local populations, as only 10 out of 37 HAPs have locally-specified temperature thresholds.
- Climate projections are not integrated into current HAPs, which limits their ability to identify future planning needs.
- Nearly all HAPs fail to identify and target vulnerable groups, with only two HAPs conducting vulnerability assessments to locate the populations most likely to be affected in a city, district, or state.
- The CPR reports that most HAPs (Hazardous Air Pollution Plans) have broad categories of vulnerable groups but the solutions they propose do not necessarily focus on these groups.
- Only three of 37 HAPs identify their funding sources and eight HAPs ask implementing departments to self-allocate resources, indicating a serious funding constraint.
- The CPR found that none of the HAPs reviewed indicate the legal sources of their authority, which reduces bureaucratic incentives to prioritize and comply with their instructions.
- The HAPs are insufficiently transparent with no national repository of HAPs and very few listed online. It is also unclear whether these plans are being updated periodically and based on evaluation data.
- India has created dozens of heat action plans in the past decade, indicating significant progress.
- However, an assessment by CPR reveals gaps that need to be addressed in future plans to prevent damaging economic losses.
- These gaps could lead to decreasing labor productivity, frequent disruptions to agriculture, and increasingly hot cities due to more frequent and intense heatwaves.
- CPR’s report recommends that heat action plans identify sources of financing and set up rigorous evaluations for constant improvement.
- Without implementation-oriented HAPs, India’s poorest will continue to suffer from extreme heat, risking their health and income.
- To avert further harm to vulnerable communities, Pillai stressed the significance of executing effective Heat Action Plans (HAPs).
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“Addressing the gaps in India’s heat action plans is essential to protect vulnerable populations from the increasing risks posed by the climate crisis. We must take urgent and proactive measures to ensure that our policies and actions are tailored to local conditions and focused on those most in need.”
Kandela IAS