Daily Newsings: 1 May 2025
Hotter May than normal and more number of heatwave days
Daily Newsings are musings on the daily news.
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecasted that this May will be hotter than normal. The prediction is also that there will be a higher number of heat wave days than normal.
The higher heat will especially affect North India and Central India. The states facing the worst of it would be Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, as well as parts of West Bengal, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telengana and North Karnataka.
What is the use of such predictions though?
The short answer is that such knowledge enables the government to prepare and act in order to ensure that vulnerable sections of the society do not suffer due to such heat waves.
Heatwaves can result in various forms of suffering for the poor and vulnerable sections of society, from lowered income1 to even deaths due to heat strokes2.
But what can the government do to prevent people from suffering?
There are a few different things that Governments do in order to help combat the heat. Awareness campaigns are one such effort. Governments often broadcast a list of dos and dont's, that will help people stay safe and healthy during the heatwave days. From advising people to stay hydrated to giving tips on what not to do when someone has a heat stroke, such awareness campaigns can help a lot of people, especially those from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
Various cities in India, such as Ahmedabad and Delhi also build cooling centres. These are designated public spaces where anybody can go and get relief from the heat. These may be air-conditioned or shaded places which provide water and basic first aid.
A third response of Governments have been to shift the timings for urban workers as well as schools and colleges. These can ensure that children (who are one of the vulnerable groups during heatwaves) do not have to travel during the hours of the day when the heat is the highest.
The work of the Meteorologists is a service that might seem boring or irrelevant, but could even be life-saving in some cases. Let us thank God for their services. Let us also pray for wisdom for the Government and city officials to protect the weak and vulnerable sections of society during times of extreme weather.
While the privileged members of society can often work from the comforts of shaded offices or air-conditioned rooms, the urban poor often struggle in the heat. Many not only have to work in the extreme heat under the sun, they also often struggle financially. For many shopkeepers and roadside sellers, for instance, the hot days often mean less sales and less income. Construction work often reduces during the hot hours of the day, which can sometimes result in less income as well. When workers have to compensate for the lost work by working later into the evening, they lose further times of leisure or rest. And summer times also require them to spend more on electricity or other purchases which they need to make in order to beat the heat.
Let us pray for all such workers in these hot summer days, and pray for the Government to implement good policies that would protect the weak and the vulnerable.
Das, Saudamini. "Effects of Climate Change and Heat Waves on Low Income Urban Workers: Evidence from India." _Inequality and Climate Change: Perspectives from the South; Delgado-Ramos, GC, Ed_ (2015).
Das, Saudamini, and Stephen C. Smith. "Awareness as an adaptation strategy for reducing mortality from heat waves: evidence from a disaster risk management program in India." _Climate Change Economics_ 3.02 (2012): 1250010.