This summer has seen among the longest prolonged heatwave periods in India’s meteorological history. Soaring temperatures of 45-50°C – some places reported over 50°C – continued for over a month in May and June in the Northwest region. Multiple fire accidents during the same period added to the distress, severely taking its toll on the health and medical infrastructure of the country.
The record breaking spell of excess heatwaves created a domino effect and a perfect storm for a series of disasters. It all began with the massive wildfires in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, affecting the quality of air and increasing the heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Frequent incidents of fire in hospitals and high rises followed, leading to unfortunate loss of lives. The demand for electricity to run cooling equipment shot up like never before. And Delhi is witnessing an unprecedented drinking water crisis.
On June 6, Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee to review the preparedness to deal with heatwaves and forest fires. Earlier, on June 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting on forest fire incidents and directed mitigation efforts with more alacrity.
Rise in fire cases
An unusually long period of severe heatwave made the situation unbearable in the Northwest. Cities recorded an unprecedented rise in fire emergencies. For instance, the Delhi Fire Service has been getting as many as 100-200 SOS calls every day. The only parallel for this level of intensity of calls is during Diwali where cracker accidents keep the fire service department on their toes.
The first 20 days of June this year witnessed a 155% rise in fire SOS calls compared to the same period in Delhi last year. In June 2023, the Delhi Fire Service reported 997 fire calls; the corresponding figure this year is 2,549. Even the loss of lives reported during the same period was double that of the previous year.
Moreover, April and May recorded an increase in fire cases and the number of deaths. Distress calls zoomed, which include animal and bird rescue calls.
“Overloaded electrical outlets increased the strain on the systems significantly, heightening the fire risk. It was responsible for 70% of the residential or commercial complex fires,” said Atul Garg, Directorate General Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, Union home ministry to this newspaper. Besides, there are a number of cases where commercial establishments flout fire safety norms, like the gaming zone blaze in Gujarat’s Rajkot that killed 27 weekend revellers and the one at a children’s hospital in Delhi where seven babies died. Reports suggest that Delhi witnessed over 66 hospital fires in the past two years.
“Hospitals have a confluence of factors that heighten fire risk,” said Keerthi D’Souza, a fire safety auditor with Life Giver Assurance Services, Bengaluru. “High concentrations of oxygen in intensive care units, neonatal intensive care units, and operation rooms create an environment ripe for combustion,” she explained.
Additionally, split air conditioners, commonly used in these areas, can malfunction and ignite. “Furthermore, cost concerns may lead hospitals to neglect essential fire safety measures, putting lives at stake,”said D’Souza.
According to the latest National Crime Record Bureau data, 7,435 people died in 7,566 fire accidents across the country in 2022. “Rising urban fire is a combination of high temperature, extremely dry conditions and the absence of sufficient green spaces,” said Monalisa Sen of ICLEI, which works on urban sustainable development. “Fire cases get further compounded with poor urban planning,” Sen added.
The load of the intense heat falls on the air conditioning (AC) system. Compressors in the air conditioners, which are exposed to direct sunlight, have been known to catch fire. For instance, a fire in a garment company in the Delhi-NCR region began at the AC unit from where it quickly spread and triggered an LPG cylinder blast.
“Bursting of AC is because of overheating and overloading,” said R Srinivas, a former Town Planner. Direct exposure of the AC to sunlight leads to overheating of condensers, which reduces its efficiency and keeps the room warmer. So, the thermostat doesn’t come into play and the AC works longer, leading to overheating and fire accidents, he added.
Urban heat island
The rise in the number of migrant populations in urban areas led to an increase in unplanned urbanisation. Buildings came up in encroached forest areas and water bodies, which are essential for regulating heat in urban areas. For instance, in the 1970s, there were over 200 water bodies in Delhi and its surrounding areas. Now, only 20 such lakes exist. Consequently, cities have turned into urban heat islands where buildings, roads and other infrastructures absorb and re-emit heat, making the urban jungle several degrees hotter than the surrounding rural areas.
“High-rise buildings and the concrete setup in the cities do not let the excess heat escape at night. As the structures fail to cool down, the heatwave continues into the night. Open green spaces and natural environments with trees can help release the heat faster during the night,” said Dr Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune.
Koll explained that people do not appreciate natural spaces as much as they do skyscrapers. “Add to that some haphazard city planning, poor architecture and unsustainable construction, and the recipe for an urban heat island is complete,” said Koll.
The longest streak of heatwaves led to a record power demand in Delhi. The all-time high demand in the Capital this year was of a whopping 8,647 MW. Another record was of Delhi’s peak power demand crossing 7,000 MW for the 30th consecutive day.
On the business side, the cooling equipment industry hasn’t had it this good in years. Its sales volume has gone up by over 40% this year as compared to last summer. In fact, manufacturers of branded ACs flew in critical parts from abroad to meet the unexpectedly high demand.
However, reports on regular power outages from various parts of Delhi-NCR added to the people’s misery. It increased the health risk to children and the elderly.
The current drinking water crisis in the Capital and its surrounding areas, with the Delhi government accusing Haryana of less supply of water, pushed the city to its brink.
Health emergency
Recent visuals of unclaimed bodies bound in white and polybags strewn outside hospitals in Delhi-NCR due to lack of space in mortuaries captured the plight of the marginalised lot. Reports suggest that the relentless spell of heatwaves claimed multiple lives of the destitute and the homeless. The videos went viral on social media and evoked strong reactions.
However, the official heatwave toll compiled from across the country recently stood at just 143, while only around 42,000 people suffered from heat stroke between March 1 and June 20. But experts are not convinced the data captures the actual situation on the ground.
For example, the Centre for Holistic Development, a Delhi-based non-profit, claimed that 278 homeless people have been found dead on Delhi-NCR streets this month alone till June 19 due to severe heatwaves.
Delhi’s largest crematorium, Nigambodh Ghat, is busier than ever. The average cremation count per day is 142, up from 60 before the heatwave. Even during the severe cold wave, the peak daily cremation was 90. Only when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the per day cremation at Nigambodh Ghat was 253.
“Our body is not prepared for such a level of warming in this unprecedented summer heat,” says well known environmentalist Sunita Narain, Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment.
Besides, a new analysis shows that Indians are getting less sleep due to rising nighttime temperature above the 25°C threshold. Mumbai tops the list among the metros while the situation is the worst in the East. This decidedly is something policy makers need to sleep on and evolve quick solutions.