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India experienced unprecedented heatwaves this year, which have killed hundreds of people, but there is currently no plan to classify it as a notified disaster, which will make it eligible for financial assistance under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the government told the Parliament on July 25, 2024.
In response to several questions in Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh, minister of state for Union ministry of science and technology and earth sciences, stated that the 15th Finance Commission considered the issue of including more calamities in the existing notified list of calamities, but declined to include heatwaves on the notified disaster list.
“The Commission, in para 8.143 of its report, had observed that the list of notified disasters eligible for funding from State Disaster Mitigation Fund and National Disaster Mitigation Fund covers the needs of the state to a large extent and thus did not find much merit in the request to expand its scope,” the reply said.
Presently the notified list of disasters eligible for National Disaster Response Fund/State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance includes 12 disasters: Cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst, pest attack and frost and cold wave.
According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the country saw 536 heatwave days this summer — the most in 14 years. IMD calculates heatwave days based on data from all 36 meteorological subdivisions. So, for example, if all 36 sub-divisions record heatwave days on a particular day, then that will be recorded as 36 heatwave days.
The northwest region of the country also witnessed the warmest June since 1901.
The basic criteria for IMD to declare a heatwave are when a place's temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius (°C) in the plains, 37°C in coastal areas, and 30°C in the hills. These temperature values are the thresholds established by the IMD for the declaration of heatwaves in India.
Meanwhile, the government listed a number of steps it has taken to minimise loss of life and property during heatwaves, but these were limited to issuing heat index forecasts, early warnings and implementing heat action plans (HAPs) and advisories.
Down To Earth had earlier reported on how advisories and HAPs have been ineffective for protecting vulnerable groups, especially informal workers, as these are not binding and do not have a regulatory back up.
In April this year, the International Labour Organization had flagged the risk of excessive heat to workers worldwide.
In a country like India, where 90 per cent of the labour force is engaged in the informal sector, performing outdoor jobs that involve physically demanding tasks in construction, brick kilns, and other similar fields, workers face significant risks due to heat stress given their frequent exposure to extreme heat at work.
India has seen 10,635 deaths due to heat or sunstroke in the 10-year period of 2013-2022, according to data given in Lok Sabha by the minister on July 25, 2024.
Singh also noted that if a state government wants to provide relief to the victims of natural disasters that it considers to be disasters within local context but that are not included in the notified list, in that case it can use up to 10 per cent of the annual fund allocation of the SDRF. However, this is “subject to fulfilment of certain prescribed conditions and norms”.