“India Meteorological Department (IMD), in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the local health departments, has started a Heat Action Plan (HAP) in many parts of the country to forewarn about the heat waves and also advise action to be taken during such occasions. NDMA has also developed guidelines to be followed to mitigate the impact of heatwaves on labourers,” Singh said.
He said that the heatwave forecast and warning information by IMD are provided to all the stakeholders, including ministries of the Union Government, State Governments, and local Government bodies.
“IMD issues various outlooks/forecasts/warnings for the public and disaster management authorities to prepare for extreme weather events, including heatwaves. While issuing the alert, a suitable color code is used to highlight the impact of the severe weather expected and signal disaster management about the course of action to be taken regarding an impending disaster weather event,” Singh stated.
According to the Minister, IMD issues the necessary warnings and advisories well in advance for preparedness. All these real-time products were disseminated to all users using a website, API, Common Alert Protocol (CAP), WhatsApp, and e-mails. A series of National and State-level heatwave preparedness meetings are conducted much before the start of the summer season, with regular review meetings from time to time during the season.
To another query, Singh said that there has been a 40 to 50 percent improvement in the forecast accuracy of all severe weather events like heavy rainfall, fog, heat/cold waves, and thunderstorms in the recent five years by the India Meteorological Department. “The Ministry continuously enhances and upgrades meteorological observations, communications, modeling tools, and forecasting systems,” he said.
It is mentionable that heatwave days are days when the temperature is abnormally high compared to what is normal for a region and time of the year. Such heat waves can have major consequences for human health and the environment. However, the temperature at which a heatwave is declared is region based and also depends on the region’s historical temperatures.
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