In this article, we will discuss Impacts of Heat Waves In India. So, let’s get started.
Impacts of Heat Waves In India
- Economic Impacts: The frequent occurrence of heat waves also adversely affects different sectors of the economy.
- For instance, the livelihood of poor and marginal farmers is negatively impacted due to the loss of working days.
- Heatwaves also have an adverse impact on daily wage workers’ productivity, impacting the economy.
- Impact on Agriculture Sector: Crop yields suffer when temperatures exceed the ideal range.
- Farmers in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have reported losses in their wheat crop in the past rabi season. Across India, wheat production could be down 6-7% due to heat waves.
- Livestock is also vulnerable to heatwaves.
- Researchers at Cornell University estimate that, by 2100, milk yields in India could drop by 25% (against 2005 levels) in arid and semi-arid dairy farming due to increased heat stress.
- Impact on Electricity Usage: Naturally, heatwaves impact power load.
- In the North India, the average daily peak demand in April was 13% higher than 2021 and 30% higher in May.
- Human Mortality: Mortality due to heat waves occurs because of rising temperature, lack of public awareness programmes, and inadequate long-term mitigation measures.
- According to a 2019 report of the Tata Centre for Development and the University of Chicago, by 2100, annually, more than 1.5 million people will be likely to die due to extreme heat caused by climate change.
- The increased heat will lead to an increase in diseases like diabetes, circulatory and respiratory conditions, as well as mental health challenges.
- Food Insecurity: The concurrence of heat and drought events are causing crop production losses and tree mortality.
- The risks to health and food production will be made more severe from the sudden food production losses exacerbated by heat-induced labour productivity losses.
- These interacting impacts will increase food prices, reduce household incomes, and lead to malnutrition and climate-related deaths, especially in tropical regions.
- Impact on Workers: Workers in sectors like agriculture and construction will be severely impacted in 2030 because India’s large population depends on these sectors for their livelihoods.
- Weaker Sections to be Specifically Affected: The climate science community has reported overwhelming evidence that extreme events such as heatwaves are likely to become more intense, more frequent and of longer duration in future unless emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols are significantly cut globally.
- It is important to remember that heatwaves in India, such as the current event, have the potential to influence thousands of vulnerable and poor people who contributed very little to the climate crisis.
