CONTEXT  

• India is facing increasingly severe and frequent heatwaves due to climate change.
• The casualties linked to heat are grossly underreported, impacting public health responses and disaster preparedness.
• Example: In May 2023, a ragpicker in Delhi collapsed and died from heat exhaustion, but the death wasn’t officially attributed to heat due to lack of proof.
• Without verified data, no compensation is provided, and policy inaction persists.

CONCEPT

• Heatwave: Period of excessively hot weather that poses a serious health risk, especially for vulnerable populations.
• Heat-related deaths occur due to heatstroke, dehydration, cardiac strain, etc., but often go undocumented.
• Heat mortality often requires specific attribution, which is difficult without medical certification or autopsy linkage.
• No centralized, real-time electronic reporting system hampers accurate tracking and policy intervention.
• Compliance by states in heat-death reporting is poor, despite mandatory protocols.

CURRENT  

• Between 2015–2022:
  • NCDC reported 3,812 deaths via hospital-based surveillance.
  • NCRB data, cited in Parliament, reports 8,171 deaths due to “heat/sunstroke.”
  • IMD reported 3,436 deaths during the same period, based largely on media inputs.
• For 2023–2024:
  • NCDC and IMD have released recent data, but NCRB data is still pending.
• Government officials admit these datasets are “not directly comparable” due to different data sources (OPDs, autopsies, media).
• Experts (e.g., NRDC India) emphasize that attribution of deaths to heat is a global challenge, not just India-specific.
• Lack of integrated systems leads to fragmented responses and invisible suffering of the poor and vulnerable.

MAINS QUESTION

• How can India improve the accuracy and reliability of heat-related death data to inform effective policy interventions?
• What are the potential consequences of underreporting or overreporting heat-related deaths in India, and how can these be mitigated?