Heat wave in India killed 6,100 people in 9 years with 2015 most deadly: Vardhan

Over 6,100 people have died in India due to the heat wave in the last nine years, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday.

In a written response to a question, Minister of Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan said 2017 witnessed 375 deaths caused by heat waves, of which 236 were in Andhra Pradesh and 100 in Telangana. Twenty deaths were reported in 2018. In 2010, 269 people had died due to heat wave, followed by 2011 (12), 2012 (729), 2013 (1,433), 2014 (548), 2015 (2,081), 2016 (700), 2017 (375) and 2018 (20), he said.

The minister said the latest study has shown that heat waves have increased in many parts of the country, adding that in India, the heat wave conditions are generally experienced during the period between March and July.

"As an adaptive measure, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in collaboration with state health departments have started a heat action plan in many parts of the country to forewarn about heat waves and advise on action to be taken," he said.

Vardhan said the heat action plan is a comprehensive early warning system and preparedness plan for extreme heat events. "The plan presents immediate and longer-term actions to increase preparedness, information-sharing and response coordination to reduce the health impacts of extreme heat on vulnerable populations," he also said.

(With inputs from agencies.)