{"id":117816,"date":"2026-08-07T17:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T12:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=117816"},"modified":"2026-08-07T17:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T12:14:24","slug":"heatwaves-and-lightning-included-as-notified-natural-calamities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/heatwaves-and-lightning-included-as-notified-natural-calamities\/","title":{"rendered":"Heatwaves and Lightning Included as Notified Natural Calamities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission, the <\/span><b>Union Government has officially recognised heatwaves and lightning as notified natural calamities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) guidelines for the period 2026-2031, enabling affected states to provide financial relief and assistance from disaster response funds.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is Heatwave?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-meteorological-department-imd\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>India Meteorological Department (IMD)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><b>heatwave<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a <\/span><b>period of abnormally high temperatures over a region compared with its normal climatic conditions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In India, it is declared when the maximum temperature reaches <\/span><b>at least 40\u00b0C in the plains or 30\u00b0C in hilly regions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and meets the prescribed IMD criteria based on temperature departure from normal or actual maximum temperature.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is Lightning?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the <\/span><b>India Meteorological Department (IMD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>lightning is a sudden, high-voltage electrostatic discharge<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> occurring within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the ground, accompanied by a bright flash of light and thunder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is one of the most dangerous weather hazards and a major cause of weather-related deaths in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What are Notified Natural Calamities?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Notified natural calamities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are disasters officially recognised by the Government of India for financial assistance under the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/state-disaster-response-funds-sdrf\/\" target=\"_blank\">State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-disaster-response-fund-ndrf\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States affected by these disasters <\/span><b>become eligible to receive central assistance for relief, rehabilitation and response measures.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before this decision, the <\/span><b>notified list included 12 disasters <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, and frost\/cold wave.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Heatwaves and Lightning Included as Notified Natural Calamities Reasons<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extreme weather events such as heatwaves and lightning have become more frequent and severe due to climate change, causing rising human, economic and livelihood losses across India.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between 1 March and 26 July 2026, <\/span><b>India reported 4,853 heatstroke cases and 20 confirmed deaths<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the highest number of cases recorded in Telangana (915), West Bengal (733) and Chhattisgarh (660).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earlier, heatwaves were treated only as a local disaster, allowing <\/span><b>states to use only up to 10% of their annual SDRF allocation for relief,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> while lightning was not recognised as a notified natural calamity under the SDRF\u2013NDRF framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognising these gaps, the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/16th Finance Commission vajiram\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><b>16th Finance Commission <\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recommended including heatwaves and lightning as notified natural calamities for the 2026-31 award period.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their inclusion en<\/span><b>ables states to access SDRF and NDRF assistance for relief, compensation, rehabilitation and disaster response, strengthening India&#8217;s climate resilience.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Significance of Recognising Heatwaves and Lightning as Notified Natural Calamities<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The inclusion of heatwaves and lightning as notified natural calamities marks a major shift in India&#8217;s disaster management framework by aligning disaster financing with the growing risks posed by climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Enables access to SDRF and NDRF assistance for relief, rehabilitation and response <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">measures in heatwave- and lightning-affected areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Removes the earlier restriction <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under which heatwaves were treated as a local disaster, limiting states to using only up to 10% of their annual SDRF allocation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strengthens financial preparedness of states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to respond quickly to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat and lightning events.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Improves support for vulnerable groups<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including outdoor workers, farmers, the elderly and economically weaker sections affected by heat-related disasters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Promotes better implementation of Heat Action Plans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and other disaster preparedness, early warning and public health measures<\/span><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Recognises heatwaves and lightning as national disaster <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">management priorities, reflecting their rising human and economic impacts due to <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>climate change<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Aligns India&#8217;s disaster relief framework with emerging climate risks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, ensuring disaster funding keeps pace with changing hazard patterns.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Other Government Measures to Reduce Heatwave Impacts<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union Government has already introduced several measures to reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">implements heat-health interventions across the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illness (NAPHRI)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> guides states on preparedness, early warning, and medical response.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>National Heat-Related Illness and Death Surveillance (NHRIDS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> monitors heat-related cases through more than 51,000 health facilities, including Primary Health Centres and hospitals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States are also implementing <\/span><b>Heat Action Plans <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to improve early warning systems, public awareness and emergency response<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heatwaves and lightning are now notified natural calamities in India. Know their significance, SDRF and NDRF relief, key reasons, and climate impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":117876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117816"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117891,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117816\/revisions\/117891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}