Union Minister of State (Independent Representative) for Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Representative) for Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today informed that National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) are working with 23 states to develop heat action plans.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today on the impact of heat waves on livestock, Dr Jitendra Singh said heat action plans are being developed in states prone to high temperatures leading to heat waves. Dr Jitendra Singh said studies show that stress caused by heat waves increases respiration and mortality, reduces fertility, modifies animal behavior and suppresses the immune and endocrine systems, making animals more susceptible to certain diseases.
Dr Jitendra Singh said the Heat Action Plan is a comprehensive early warning system and preparedness plan for extreme heat. The plan presents both immediate and long-term measures to increase preparedness, share information and coordinate responses to reduce the health impacts of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. He added that as an adaptive measure, the IMD in collaboration with local health departments in many parts of the country has launched a heat action plan to give advance warning of heat waves and also recommend measures to be taken on such occasions. The heat action plan has been operational since 2013.
Recent progress in heatwave forecasting and warning follows:-
•Information on monitoring and forecasting heat waves on GIS
•Issue a special heat wave and its impact bulletin (March to June) at 16:00 IST including the effect of minimum temperature, humidity and wind.
•Heat wave hazard analysis for the entire country for the four hot weather months (MARCH, APRIL, MAY & JUNE) with respect to maximum temperature, minimum temperature, humidity, wind and duration is complete. This will lead to the identification of hazard scores based on various meteorological parameters exacerbating the impact of heat waves. These scores could in the future be used as a threshold to generate heat wave impact alerts for specific locations.
Heat wave is one of the severe weather phenomena for which the IMD issues an early warning. In the country, there is a noticeable increase in maximum temperatures and also greater heat waves in the months of April, May and June. As an initiative, the IMD issues a seasonal temperature outlook for the months of April, May and June in the last week of March for planning purposes. This outlook brings the expected scenario of heat waves even in the period.
The Seasonal Outlook is followed by the Extended Range Outlook issued every Thursday for the next two weeks. In addition, a daily forecast and color-coded severe weather warning is issued including a heat wave warning for the next five days with an outlook for the next two days. The IMD issues an additional 24-hour heat wave bulletin in the morning (8:00 AM) to support activity planning for the day and this bulletin is also being circulated to all concerned. All these bulletins are also published on the IMD website on a special page created for heat waves.
