Severe Heatwaves in East and South India: Meteorological Drivers and Policy Imperatives

From a governance perspective, these events are no longer mere weather fluctuations but significant disaster management challenges. Heatwaves lead to increased morbidity and mortality, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and outdoor laborers. They also strain the national power grid due to surging cooling demands and threaten food security by inducing heat stress in standing crops, which can lead to "flash droughts"—rapidly developing periods of drought caused by high temperatures and low soil moisture. India’s response must evolve beyond reactive measures. While the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has provided guidelines for Heat Action Plans (HAPs), their implementation at the municipal level remains inconsistent. Effective HAPs must integrate early warning systems, public "cool spaces," and long-term urban interventions like "cool roofs," increased green-blue infrastructure, and restored urban wetlands to mitigate the UHI effect. UPSC Relevance: This topic is crucial for GS Paper I (Geophysical phenomena) and GS Paper III (Disaster Management). Aspirants should be able to link meteorological causes like anti-cyclones with socio-economic impacts and evaluate the effectiveness of Heat Action Plans in the context of climate change and urban resilience.