New Delhi: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducting a two-day national workshop on heat wave risk reduction on 27-28 February, 2019. The workshop, to be held at Nagpur, has been organised in collaboration with the Maharashtra Government.
Heat wave has emerged as one of the major severe weather events around the globe in recent years. Climate change is driving temperatures higher as well as increasing the frequency and severity of heat waves. India too is experiencing increased instances of heat waves every year.
NDMA has been closely working with vulnerable States to reduce the adverse impacts of heat wave.
Sustained efforts – timely release and effective implementation of the national Guidelines on heat wave, preparation of Heat Action Plans by 13 vulnerable States, regular follow-up and monitoring by NDMA, extensive awareness generation campaigns through print, electronic and social media, preparedness workshops in 2017 and 2018 – have significantly brought down the number of heat-related deaths in the past few years. From more than 2,000 deaths in 2015, the number came down to 25 in 2018.
In this backdrop, this workshop aims to sensitise the States to the need of preparing and implementing specific Heat Action Plans. Some of the most vulnerable States, which have done a commendable job in mitigating the impact of heat waves, will share their experiences and best practices to help other stakeholders draw lessons.
It will also provide an opportunity for community capacity building and awareness generation among vulnerable populations. The workshop will also discuss the integration of long-term heat risk reduction measures into developmental plans as well as Climate Change Adaptation.
The workshop will be attended by experts on heat wave as well as other stakeholders such as early warning and forecasting agencies, State governments and research institutions apart from Members and senior officials from NDMA.
