Heatwaves as Disasters: Are India's Heat Action Plans Working?

What Counts as a Heatwave?

The IMD declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature reaches at least 40°C in the plains, 37°C in coastal areas or 30°C in hills, and the departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C; a 'severe' heatwave involves a departure of 6.5°C or more, or an absolute maximum of 47°C. The criteria must be met at two stations in a subdivision for two consecutive days.

• Heatwaves are not among the 12 notified disasters eligible for State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance, though States may use up to 10 per cent of SDRF for local disasters.
• The Fifteenth Finance Commission left the question of including heatwaves to the Centre; the Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 created an Urban Disaster Management Authority framework for State capitals and million-plus cities.

Heat Action Plans: Promise and Gaps

Ahmedabad pioneered India's first Heat Action Plan in 2013 after the 2010 heatwave killed over 1,300 people. Today, more than 23 States and over 250 cities have HAPs, coordinated by NDMA guidelines. Yet a Centre for Policy Research review found most plans are generic, underfunded and rarely map local vulnerability.

• Effective HAPs include early warning colour codes, adjusted work hours for outdoor labour, cooling centres, hospital heat wards and cool-roof programmes.
• Gaps: no legal mandate or dedicated budget line, poor integration with urban planning, and neglect of the informal workforce.
• Wet-bulb temperature — combining heat and humidity — is a better indicator of physiological risk than dry-bulb maxima.

Way Forward

• Notify heatwaves as a disaster with a dedicated SDRF window and mortality-reporting protocol.
• Ward-level vulnerability mapping linking HAPs to master plans, building codes and cool-roof mandates.
• Occupational protection: statutory heat breaks and income support for outdoor workers under MGNREGA and gig-worker rules.
• Nature-based cooling: urban forests, blue-green infrastructure and wetland restoration.