{"id":50725,"date":"2025-06-18T09:44:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T04:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=50725"},"modified":"2025-06-18T11:03:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T05:33:31","slug":"india-faces-rising-heat-risk-57-districts-at-high-or-very-high-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-faces-rising-heat-risk-57-districts-at-high-or-very-high-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"India Faces Rising Heat Risk: 57% Districts at High or Very High Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Extreme Heat Risk in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), titled \u2018<\/span><b><i>How Extreme Heat is Impacting India<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019, reveals that 57% of Indian districts, home to 76% of the population, face high or very high risk from extreme heat.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">States facing the highest risk include Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), based in New Delhi, is one of the world\u2019s leading and best-managed independent climate think tanks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Understanding Heat Risk: Not the Same as Heatwaves or Heat Stress<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Heatwaves<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they do not have a universal definition, heatwaves are essentially prolonged periods of abnormally high temperatures in a specific region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Heat Stress<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occurs when the body temperature exceeds 37\u00b0C.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Body struggles to release excess heat, causing discomfort, cramps, and exhaustion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If body temperature exceeds 40\u00b0C, it may lead to heat stroke.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Heat Risk<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the CEEW study, heat risk refers to the probability of heat-related illness or death due to extreme temperatures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is determined by three key factors:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intensity of heat and compounding effects (e.g., humidity),<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Degree of exposure, and<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vulnerability of affected communities (e.g., age, health conditions).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">Key Factors Driving Heat Risk in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Rise in Very Warm Nights<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between 2012 and 2022, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over 70% of Indian districts experienced five or more additional very warm nights each summer<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warm nights prevent the body from cooling down after hot days, increasing the risk of heat strokes and worsening non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Increase in Relative Humidity in North India<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relative humidity in the Indo-Gangetic Plain rose from 30\u201340% (1982\u20132011) to 40\u201350% (2012\u20132022).<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High humidity hampers cooling through sweat, intensifying heat stress, especially when body temperature exceeds 37\u00b0C.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Urbanisation and Population Density<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cities like Mumbai and Delhi face higher exposure due to dense populations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rapid urbanisation in tier II and III cities has led to increased night-time heat due to heat-absorbing concrete infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Socio-Economic and Health Vulnerabilities<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Districts in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh are particularly vulnerable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Factors include a high share of elderly populations and prevalence of chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">Key Findings of The Study<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>2024: Warmest Year on Record<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 marked the hottest year globally, including in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global average temperature was 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels (1850\u20131900).<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s temperature was 1.2\u00b0C higher than the 1901\u20131910 average.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>India\u2019s Climate Impact: Already Evident<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India experienced its longest recorded heatwave since 2010.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 44,000 cases of heatstroke were reported in 2024 alone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inadequate Heat Action Plans (HAPs)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s HAPs (early warning and preparedness plans) are often:<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lacking long-term strategies, or<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poorly implemented, even when they exist.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the Sustainable Futures Collaborative (SFC), this weakens India\u2019s response to growing heat threats.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Future Risks<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without stronger planning and execution, heat-related deaths may rise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country faces increasing threats from more frequent, intense, and prolonged heatwaves.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Source: <\/b><a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-climate\/extreme-heat-india-10052479\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>IE<\/b><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a style=\"font-size: inherit;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/organizations\/council-on-energy-environment-and-water-ceew\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <b>WEF<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>57% of Indian districts face extreme heat risk, affecting 76% of the population, says CEEW study. Rising humidity and warm nights worsen the crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":50741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[898,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-50725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-extreme-heat-risk-in-india","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50725","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\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}