Lok Sabha Question No. 963 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-26
Subject: Study on Global Warming
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Kunwar Danish Ali

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 963 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 26 TH  JULY, 2023

## STUDY ON GLOBAL WARMING

## † 963.  KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted any study on global warming during the last five years and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  received  information  about  the  death  of  large  number  of persons because of extreme heat wave in different parts of the country;
- (c) if so, the State-wise details thereof;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  or  proposes  to  conduct  an  extensive  scientific study on incidents of heat wave in different parts of the country;
- (e) if so, the details thereof including Uttar Pradesh;
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  also  assessed  the  effect  of  severe  heat  wave  on  humans, plants and animals in the country;
- (g) if so, the details thereof; and
- (h) the  remedial  steps  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  solve  this problem?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

- (a) Yes  Sir.  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES)  recently  has  published  'Assessment  of Climate Change over the Indian Region, which contains a comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change upon the Indian subcontinent. The highlights of the report follow:
1.   India's average temperature has risen by around 0.7 o C during 1901-2018.
2.   Frequency  of  daily  precipitation  extremes  (rainfall  intensities  >150  mm  per  day) increased by about 75% during 1950-2015.
3.   The frequency and spatial extent of droughts over India has increased significantly during 1951-2015.
4.   Sea-level rise in the North Indian Ocean occurred at a rate of 3.3 mm per year in the last two and half decades (1993-2017)
5.   Frequency of Severe Cyclonic Storms over Arabian sea has increased during the post monsoon seasons of 1998-2018.

The report is available in the following link:

https://cccr.tropmet.res.in/home/docs/cccr/2020\_Book\_AssessmentOfClimateChangeOve rT.pdf

- (b)-(c)  Yes  Sir.  In  the  recent  years,  death  due  to  heat  wave  has  decreased  significantly.    The details  of  death  toll  due  to  heatwave  during  the  recent  years  from  2017  to  2021  as provided  by  the  National  Crime  Record  Bureau  (NCRB),  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  is given in Annexure-I.
- (d)-(e)   Yes.  India  Meteorological  Department  (IMD)  routinely  monitor  Climate  over  Indian Region  and  bring  out  yearly  publication  viz.  Annual  Climate  summary'  since  2004. These are available in the following link:(https://www.imdpune.gov.in/cmpg/Product/acs.html).

IMD  started issuing monthly climate summary  also since April 2021. (Refer https://www.imdpune.gov.in/cmpg/Product/mcs.php). Annual/Monthly climate summary include information about the temperature, Rainfall and extreme weather events occurring during the concerned period.

Since  last  year  IMD  started  preparing  state  wise  Annual  climate  report  also  which  is available in the following link:

https://www.imdpune.gov.in/Reports/Statewise%20annual%20climate/statewise\_annual\_ climate.html.

Recently published met monograph on Heat and Cold Waves in India (https://www.imdpune.gov.in/Reports/Met\_Monograph\_Cold\_Heat\_Waves.pdf) analyses heat waves over India and the processes and predictability aspects of heat wave.

Also,  IMD  brought  out  web  based  online  'Climate  Hazard  &  Vulnerability  Atlas  of India' prepared for the thirteen most hazardous meteorological events including heatwave,  which  cause  extensive  damages,  economic,  human,  and  animal  losses.  The same can be accessed at https://imdpune.gov.in/hazardatlas/abouthazard.html.

- (f)-(h)  IMD  in  collaboration  with  National  Disaster  Management  Authority  (NDMA)  has analysed  the  impact  of  heatwave  especially  on  human  beings  and  has  published  the guidelines accordingly for general public while getting exposed to heatwave.

These  guidelines  are  included  in  the  Impact  Based  Forecast  issued  by  IMD  related  to heatwave.

IMD issues forecast and warnings related to severe weather events including heat waves, in different spatial and temporal scales (seasonal, monthly and daily) and share the same with  public  as  well  as  disaster  management  authorities  so  as  to  initiate  required mitigation measures. IMD is issuing Seasonal Outlook for temperatures for the months of April, May & June for planning purpose. The seasonal outlook is followed by Extended Range  Outlook  issued  on  every  Thursday  for  next  two  weeks.  In  addition  to  this,  the forecast and the colour coded warnings for severe weather including heat wave warning are issued on daily basis for next five days (next seven days from July 2023) with outlook for another two days.

-  During the summer period from 1 April to 30 June, IMD issues colour coded impactbased heatwave warning for the benefit of the users.
-  Recent developments in Heatwave Early Warning Services of IMD follow:
- (i) Extended range forecast bulletin (including temperature forecast and warnings for next two weeks) is issued every Thursday.
- (ii) Information in Web-GIS is added for better interpretation of Heat Wave warnings by various users.
- (iii)   IMD kept Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on heat wave, NDMA Heat Wave Guidelines  along  with  the  warning  in  a  dedicated  page  created  in  IMD  website ( https://mausam.imd.gov.in/ ) with the name All India Heat Wave Information.
- (iv) IMD contributed towards the preparation of 'Guidelines for Preparation of Action Plan -Prevention and Management of Heat-Wave' published by NDMA
- (v) Heat Wave hazard analysis for entire country for four hot weather months (March, April, May& June) considering the Maximum Temperature, Minimum Temperature, Humidity, Wind and Frequency is being carried out. This will help in identification  of  hazard  scores  based  on  different  meteorological  parameters aggravating impact of Heat Waves.
- (vi)   For Dissemination of Heat Wave Warning, the following modes are used:
- Mass  Media,  Weekly  &  Daily  Weather  Video,  Internet    (e-mail),  ftp,  Public Website (mausam.imd.gov.in)
- IMD Apps:  Mausam/ Meghdoot/DAMIN/RAIN ALARM
- Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BLOG
- (vii) IMD has recently launched experimental Heat Index to provide general guidance for the regions within India where, the apparent temperature/feel like temperature (considering  the  impact  of  Humidity  along  with  the  temperature)  are  on  higher side causing the discomfort for the human beings.
- (viii)   As  an  adaptive  measure,  IMD  in  collaboration  with  NDMA  and  local  health departments  have  started  Heat  Action  Plan  in  many  parts  of  the  country  to forewarn about the heat waves and also advising action to be taken during such occasions.  Heat action plan became operational since 2013.

The Heat Action Plan is a comprehensive early warning system and preparedness plan for extreme  heat  events.  The  Plan  presents  immediate  as  well  as  longer-term  actions  to increase  preparedness,  information-sharing,  and  response  coordination  to  reduce  the health impacts of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. NDMA and IMD are working with 23 states prone to high temperatures leading to heat-wave conditions to develop heat action plans.

All these activities have significantly reduced the causalities related to heatwaves.

## Annexure-I

State/UT-wise Number of Accidental deaths due to Heat/Sun Stroke during 2017-2021

| SN             | State/UT          |   2017 |   2018 |   2019 |   2020 |   2021 |
|----------------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1              | Andhra Pradesh    |    231 |     97 |    128 |     50 |     22 |
| 2              | Arunachal Pradesh |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 3              | Assam             |      0 |      0 |      3 |      0 |      0 |
| 4              | Bihar             |     84 |     64 |    215 |     53 |     57 |
| 5              | Chhattisgarh      |     11 |      1 |     16 |      3 |      2 |
| 6              | Goa               |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 7              | Gujarat           |     25 |     31 |     27 |     12 |      8 |
| 8              | Haryana           |     24 |     56 |     46 |     23 |     14 |
| 9              | Himachal Pradesh  |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      1 |
| 10             | Jharkhand         |     51 |     42 |     88 |     23 |     33 |
| 11             | Karnataka         |      0 |      0 |      4 |      1 |      0 |
| 12             | Kerala            |      1 |      1 |      3 |      0 |      0 |
| 13             | Madhya Pradesh    |     34 |     15 |     33 |      7 |      2 |
| 14             | Maharashtra       |    102 |    128 |    159 |     56 |     37 |
| 15             | Manipur           |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 16             | Meghalaya         |      0 |      4 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 17             | Mizoram           |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 18             | Nagaland          |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 19             | Odisha            |     99 |     40 |     84 |     13 |     15 |
| 20             | Punjab            |     60 |     38 |     90 |    110 |     91 |
| 21             | Rajasthan         |     35 |     43 |     54 |     23 |      1 |
| 22             | Sikkim            |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| 23             | Tamil Nadu        |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      2 |
| 24             | Telangana         |    180 |    107 |    156 |     98 |     43 |
| 25             | Tripura           |      0 |      1 |      1 |      2 |      0 |
| 26             | Uttar Pradesh     |    142 |    176 |    117 |     50 |     35 |
| 27             | Uttarakhand       |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 28             | West Bengal       |     48 |     46 |     49 |      6 |     11 |
| TOTAL STATE(S) | TOTAL STATE(S)    |   1127 |    890 |   1274 |    530 |    374 |

| 29   | A &NIslands                | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
|------|----------------------------|------|-----|------|-----|-----|
| 30   | Chandigarh                 | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
| 31   | D&N Haveli and Daman&Diu@+ | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
| 32   | Delhi UT                   | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
| 33   | Jammu &Kashmir@*           | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
| 34   | Ladakh@                    | -    | -   | -    |   0 |   0 |
| 35   | Lakshadweep                | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
| 36   | Puducherry                 | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
|      | TOTAL UT(S)                | 0    | 0   | 0    |   0 |   0 |
|      | TOTAL (ALL INDIA)          | 1127 | 890 | 1274 | 530 | 374 |

As per data provided by states/UTs

Source: Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India

'+' Combined data of erstwhile D & N HAVELI AND DAMAN & DIU UT during 2017-2019

'*' Data of erstwhile JAMMU & KASHMIR State Including LADAKH during 2017- 2019 '@' Data of newly created Union territory

******