Key Findings of the report:
- From 2014-2017, the average length of heatwaves in India ranged from 3-4 days compared to the global average of 0.8-1.8 days.
- Indians were exposed to almost 60 million heatwave exposure events in 2016, a jump of about 40 million from 2012.
- India is amongst the countries who most experience high social and economic costs from climate change.
- Almost 153 billion hours of labour were lost globally in 2017 due to heat, an increase of 62 billion hours from the year 2000.
- India lost almost 75,000 million hours of labour in 2017, from about 43,000 million hours in 2000.
- The agriculture sector was more vulnerable compared to the industrial and service sectors because workers there were more likely to be exposed to heat.
Recommendations:
- Indian policy makers must take steps to mitigate the increased risks to health, and the loss of labour hours due to increased exposure to heatwave events over the 2012-2016 period.
- Identify “heat hot-spots” through appropriate tracking of meteorological data.
- Implement local Heat Action Plans with strategic inter-agency co-ordination, and a response which targets the most vulnerable groups.
- Review existing occupational health standards and labour laws for worker safety in relation to climatic conditions.
