Skip to main content

As heat waves intensify, is Govt of India policy helping reduce the threat?

By Bharat Dogra* 

May 15 this year came as a timely warning that India is in the center of the global warming crisis. On this day the maximum temperature crossed the 47 degrees Celsius limit in about 20 cities, mostly in northwest and central parts of the country. These cities also figured in the table of the hottest cities at world level on this day.
Most of these cities and the surrounding countryside have been figuring prominently also in the longer heat waves which have been experienced since early April.
Six of these cities are located in the Thar desert or the area close to it. These include Jaisalmer, Phalodi, Pilani, Churu, Bikaner and Ganganagar.
Four other cities are concentrated in a region of 13 districts known as Bundelkhand in Central India which saw temperature reaching 49 degrees C in Banda. Three other cities of the region which crossed the 47 mark were Jhansi, Naugaon and the tourist resort of Khajuraho.
The third belt in Northwest India included cities like Muktsar, Narnaul, Hisar and Sirsa. Gurugram, home to many multinational companies, crossed 48. Two points in the capital city of Delhi ( Mungeshwar and Najafgarh) crossed 49, even though its base observatory at Safdarjang recorded 45.6.
The base station is located closer to the elitist green areas, with many nice parks, while Mungeshwar and Najafgarh are congested areas with a substantial number of poorer people. It is these people who bear the brunt of heat waves.
While the slums where they live have less greenery are much more congested, they frequently also suffer from higher levels of air and water pollution as well as water scarcity. Open area workers as well as factory workers often work in very hot conditions, and get little respite whether at workplace or living place.
In Bundelkhand I have often seen farm workers toiling in intolerably hot conditions. However those who work there in stone quarries and stone crushers face even hotter conditions, while being exposed also to high dust levels.
In the desert area the scattered hamlets often find it extreme difficult to cope with scorching afternoons, but in addition face increasing water scarcity as well. Camels, who were once the most familiar face of the desert, now are increasingly a threatened species in most villages.
As heat waves intensify in times of climate change, is policy helping to reduce the threat? In recent years Bundelkhand has faced a fierce controversy over a water transfer project called Ken-Betwa Link. This project starts with the felling of over 2.3 million trees at a time when deforestation has been mentioned as a leading cause of water scarcity and worsening drought in Bundelkhand.
The viability of this project has been repeatedly challenged by independent experts who have pointed out that the basic premise of this project of transferring surplus water from Ken river to Betwa river is not justified as the existence of surplus water in Ken river has never been proved. They have pointed out that hundreds of very useful small water conservation projects can be supported instead by the diverting the budget of this expensive Rs 450 billion project.
In the scorching summers of this year and the previous year tens of thousands of slum dwellers have been evicted in the course of slum demolitions and in some cases their means of livelihoods like small shops and carts too have been destroyed.
These demolitions have taken place in scorching heat and it is not known where the evicted people are supposed to go. Government promises of rehabilitation often remain confined to uncertain assurances to about one-fourth of those who are evicted.
Such demolitions have affected several cities which have figured prominently in heat waves, including Faridabad, Gurugram and Chandigarh. In recent days these have intensified in Delhi. The worst sufferers are mostly poor informal sector workers who have already suffered much recently due to COVID and related lockdowns and earlier due to adverse policies like demonetization.
The poor increasingly ask -- where do we go in this savage heat when our homes and livelihoods too are being snatched from us.
The elite however can escape to the hill stations of the Himalayan region. I happened to be close to the hill station of Kasauli as record numbers of tourists poured in from the scorching plains. But the relief from heat they sought was not in sight as several forests were engulfed in flames.
People in Kasauli as well as tourists felt suffocated as the smoke also reached the hotels and restaurants. There was a rush to rescue stranded, endangered people. A helicopter appeared on the horizon to help in extinguishing fire, but appeared to be unequal to the challenge of the leaping flames. An eco-camp was reduced to ashes. Many tourists turned back midway, back to the scorching plains.
---
*Honorary Convener, Campaign to Protect Earth Now; recent books include ‘A Day in 2071', ‘Planet in Peril' and ‘Man over Machine'

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

British companies export 'deadly' asbestos to India, other countries from offshore offices

Inside a UK asbestos factory in 1994 before the mineral was banned By Rajiv Shah “The Sunday Times”, which forms part of the powerful British daily, “The Times”, has raised the alarm that though the “deadly” asbestos is banned in Britain, companies registered in United Kingdom, and operating from other countries, “are involved in shipping it to developing nations”, especially India. India, Brazil, Russia and China account for almost 80% of the asbestos consumed globally every year, it adds.