Delhi government releases first heat action plan

Delhi will alter school timings, suspend non-essential water use, provide uninterrupted power supply to health facilities and survey vulnerable locations daily to mitigate the impact of extreme heat on susceptible populations in peak summers, according to the city's first heat action plan. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which prepared the plan and submitted it to the Centre last month, also plans a pilot project to paint roofs in identified areas with white colour to help keep the indoors cooler.

"The DDMA started working on Delhi's first heat action plan in September last year after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena convened a meeting in this regard. The National Institute of Disaster Management vetted it and provided suggestions," a DDMA official told PTI. The heat action plan (HAP), which has now been sent to the National Disaster Management Authority, will be updated on an annual basis and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate at DDMA will act as the nodal officer for its implementation, the official added.

Delhi is one of the hottest cities in India and ranks among the most susceptible to heat waves due to its large population and a significant concentration of lower-income groups. Heat waves are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change.

India reported 706 heatwave incidents from 1971-2019 which claimed more than 17,000 lives, according to a paper authored by M Rajeevan, former secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with scientists Kamaljit Ray, S S Ray, R K Giri and A P Dimri. A study by the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar says India could witness a staggering 30-fold increase in severe heat waves by 2100.