Over the last 60 years, India has witnessed a rise in meteorological droughts and heatwaves, with the frequency and intensity increasing
According to the World Bank, heat waves in India could soon break the human survivability limit.
Over the last 60 years, India has witnessed a rise in meteorological droughts and heatwaves, with the frequency and intensity increasing. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had warned us of the same in August 2021, with heatwaves lasting 25 times longer by 2036-65 in the worst-case scenario.
Temperatures crossed 48 degrees Celsius in the national capital earlier this year with the hottest March ever recorded. This could be devastating for poor and marginalised communities who live in inadequately ventilated, hot and crowded homes without proper access to cooling.
Only eight per cent of Indian households own air-conditioning units, according to the India Cooling Action Plan, 2019.
The economic consequences will be high too because heat-exposed work contributes to nearly half of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Some 380 million people (75 per cent of the workforce), depend on heat-exposed labour.
India’s long-term food and public health security will depend on a reliable cold chain network. Being the world’s third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals, pre-COVID-19, India lost approximately 20 per cent of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25 per cent of vaccines due to broken cold chains amounting to losses of $313 million annually.
A sustainable cooling strategy needs to be created to help the country in its post-COVID recovery since it will boost investments, create jobs, reduce emissions, and secure the supply chains of medical care products, health infrastructure as well as food.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.