India to Launch the First Ever Plan to Beat the Heat in South Asia

New Delhi, March 10, 2016 (Newswire.com) -  India to Launch First-Ever Plan to Beat the Heat in South Asia

Comprehensive measures could be a model to safeguard millions worldwide from deadly heat waves

India is showing the world that, as we work together to fight climate change, we can take smart steps right now to shield millions of people from killer heat waves. These groundbreaking heat action plans also demonstrate that it's clearly feasible and cost-effective to create similar heat preparedness plans across Indian cities and states.

Anjali Jaiswal, India Initiative Director at NRDC.

India is launching  its first ever comprehensive regional preparedness plans and early-warning systems in South Asia, this month, to protect highly vulnerable communities from deadly heat waves intensified by climate change.  

Building on work initiated in the city of Ahmedabad, India’s novel heat action plans in the Nagpur region of Maharashtra and the Bhubaneswar coastal region of Odisha will be the first regional early warning systems and preparedness plans for extreme heat in India and South Asia. The regional plans, which focus on seven cities, are based on the successful municipal-level heat action plan launched in 2013 in Ahmedabad, the first such climate resiliency effort in South Asia. The Nagpur regional plan is the first regional approach to heat wave planning and coordinates five neighboring cities’ plans. The Odisha regional plan will strengthen the integration of heat preparedness and a heat early warning system into its robust state-wide disaster management system.

When heat waves hit, such plans  help reduce their deadly impact by initiating an early warning system for residents, providing preparation and training to medical and community workers, opening cooling centers, building public awareness of heat-related health risks, and coordinating inter-agency emergency response efforts.

The regional heat action plans were developed after India suffered a devastating heat wave in 2015 that killed more than 2,300 people. A partnership of city and state leaders, public health organizations, meteorological officials, international experts and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) drafted the plans, which could be adopted by other cities around the world burdened by sky-high temperatures and heat-related climate impacts.

“India is showing the world that, as we work together to fight climate change, we can take smart steps right now to shield millions of people from killer heat waves. These groundbreaking heat action plans also demonstrate that it’s clearly feasible and cost-effective to create similar heat preparedness plans across Indian cities and states,” said Anjali Jaiswal, the India Initiative Director at NRDC.

The Government of India is also actively supporting broader heat resilience efforts. The national Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has adapted how it forecasts temperatures and heat wave conditions, in addition to strengthening inter-agency communication. IMD now provides a 5-day forecast to more than 100 cities around India to increase cities’ capacity to warn citizens and respond to impending heat waves.

Opportunities are ripe for additional new regions to take measures to more quickly adapt and shape their own heat preparedness plans, utilizing the City Resilience Toolkit released during the Paris climate conference in December 2015..

The progress made by these regions and cities in putting together comprehensive plans and involving key stakeholders creates a framework and strong track record for other cities and states who are crafting their own heat action plans, enhancing these critical efforts to better protect citizens from rising temperatures fueled by climate change.

Quotes from key spokespersons.

1.     . “The Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan is a necessary step towards protecting our communities from extreme heat and a beautiful model for future climate adaptation efforts,” said Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner D. Thara.

2.     “Ahmedabad’s innovative model for preparing vulnerable populations for rising temperatures, such as school children, the elderly, the poor and outdoor laborers, has been incredibly effective,” said Dr. Dileep Mavalankar, Director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, one of the coalition of partners who first developed the Ahmedabad heat action plan. “During the devastating 2015 heat wave that left 2,300 dead across the country, fewer than 20 heat-related deaths were reported in Ahmedabad. That is impressive in a city that is home to over 7 million people.”

3.     “I commend these local government leaders for rapidly developing concrete action plans to better protect our at-risk communities from deadly heat, “said Sujata Saunik, Principal Secretary of the State of Maharashtra’s Public Health Department, an integral supporter of climate resilience who led Nagpur’s development of the state’s first heat action plan.

4.     “We recognize the urgent and growing need to support cities’ ability to prepare for forecasted heat waves, as climate change increases temperatures and the frequency and severity of heat waves,” said Dr. LS Rathore, Director General of IMD. “We are working with local IMD offices in key cities to ensure our forecasting tools can help advance these adaptation efforts and protect local communities.

5.     A key leader in strengthening Odisha’s capacity for heat wave response, Dr. Kamal Mishra, Chief General Manager of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), noted that, “These regional heat preparedness and disaster response activities together represent a growing movement to respond to climate threats with strong adaptation strategies that connect and empower vulnerable communities and ultimately save lives.”

Contact information and notes:

​Press contact: US: Jake Thompson, jthompson@nrdc.org, 202-289-2387; India: Nehmat Kaur, nkaur@nrdc.org +91 97-80-793939

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