Are heatwaves natural disasters?

Sub: Geography

Sec: Climatology

Heatwaves in North India:

North India is experiencing its longest heatwave in 15 years, with at least 100 deaths from heat-related illnesses reported from March 1 to June 18, likely under-reported.
Discussions are ongoing about classifying heatwaves as a natural disaster.

Are Heatwaves a Natural Disaster?

The National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) defines the roles of the Centre and States in disaster response.
12 disasters are currently eligible for state-backed compensation, including cyclones, drought, earthquakes, fire, flood, tsunamis, hailstorm, landslides, avalanches, cloudbursts, pest attacks, frost and cold waves, but not heatwaves.
Special funds at the State and Centre levels are available for these disasters.

The 15th Finance Commission’s Role:

The 15th Finance Commission oversees revenue sharing between the Centre and States.
It has so far not expanded the list of natural calamities eligible for SDRF and NDRF funding.
States can use up to 10% of their annual SDRF allocation for disasters not on the official list, including heatwaves.
The 16th Finance Commission may review new requests to include heatwaves.

Heatwave Deaths in India:

Heatwave deaths declined from 1,127 in 2017 to 374 in 2021.
33 deaths were reported in 2022, none in 2023, and at least 100 in 2024.
- The data was collected from the Zonal Integrated Police Network and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The maximum number of deaths are reported from Uttar Pradesh (37), Bihar (17), Rajasthan (16), and Odisha (13), according to the National Heat-Related Illness and Death Surveillance by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and longer.
Classification of heatwave deaths is challenging due to co-morbidities and varying definitions of a heatwave.
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Gujarat, and Rajasthan report the most heatwave casualties.

State Measures Against Heatwaves:

States, districts, and cities are developing Heat Action Plans (HAPs) to address rising heatwave frequency.
The NDMA and India Meteorological Department are collaborating with 23 States on HAPs.
HAPs include a region’s heat profile, past heatwave events, temperature trends, vulnerability assessments, and response plans.

About NCDC:

NCDC had its origin as Central Malaria Bureau, established at Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh) in 1909 and following expansion was renamed in 1927 as the Malaria Survey of India.
The organization was shifted to Delhi in 1938 and called as the Malaria Institute of India (MII).
In view of the drastic reduction achieved in the incidence of malaria under National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), Government of India decided to reorganize and expand the activities of the institute to cover other communicable diseases.
The institute was established to function as a national centre of excellence for control of communicable diseases.
The function of the institute also included various areas of training and research using multi-disciplinary integrated approach.
The Institute has its headquarters in Delhi and has 8 out-station branches located at Alwar (Rajasthan), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Kozikode (Kerela), Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Patna (Bihar), Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

Source: TH