Sun signs: On extreme heat and Tamil Nadu’s policy decision

States should prepare to assist the vulnerable during extreme heat events

Updated - October 31, 2024 12:09 pm IST

Policy decisions that are clairvoyant are most likely to serve well, and for long. A clairvoyance that comes from reading the signs today and now, can save lives, and make living better. Tamil Nadu’s move to declare heat as a State-specific disaster, rendering people so affected eligible for assistance from the State, is unequivocally a beacon shining in a country where environmental degradation goes together with unplanned cities, poverty, and limited access to shelter and health care. The World Meteorological Organization declared that 2023 was the hottest year on record. A study on ‘Deadly heat waves projected in the densely populated agricultural regions of South Asia’ portends that the most intense hazard from extreme future heatwaves will be concentrated around the densely populated agricultural regions of the Ganges and Indus basins. It is critical that the human body remains at the optimal temperature of 37° Celsius: living in temperatures that constantly and consistently exceed this limit can cause immeasurable stress and the breakdown of bodily functions, impact vital organs, and lead to death in vulnerable populations. Tamil Nadu’s move is a laudable recognition of the inevitability of extreme weather events affecting people’s health even as it prepares to address issues arising out of extreme heat events. The government order says many parts of Tamil Nadu have consistently recorded temperatures above 40° C during the summer of 2024, acknowledging that heatwaves are emerging as a threat affecting the day-to-day life of the elderly, children, those with prior illnesses, co-morbidities and those who work in open environments. Tamil Nadu’s vulnerability is exacerbated by its long coastline where humidity goes up during summer, giving rise to the peculiar wet-bulb temperature phenomenon. The World Economic Forum has warned that global warming is on track to reach a ‘wet-bulb temperature’ level of 35° C, where humans can no longer regulate safe body temperature through sweating.

While mechanisms must be alerted to mitigate the effects of global warming at the local, regional and national levels, it is also sagacious to prepare during the interim. The Tamil Nadu government’s move to provide relief to the victims of heatwave under the State Disaster Response Fund will feature a comprehensive range of activities, including ex gratia payment to families of those who died of heat-related conditions; provision for medical care, and drinking water, including supply of ORS packets, and rescheduling working hours, will make the State and its most vulnerable at least prepared for the worst. Other States would do well to be inspired by this model.

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