2015 Indian heat wave

Date: May 2015

Place: India

Result: more than 2,500 dead

Overview

The 2015 Indian heat wave was a wave of high temperatures that struck India in May of 2015, ultimately killing 2,500 people. The high temperatures impacted an area stretching from the Indian-Pakistani border in the east to the Nepalese border in the north to the Bangladeshi border in the country’s west. Many of India’s largest population centers are located only slightly north of the equator, so the country is used to extreme fluctuations in temperature. During the summer monsoon season, for instance, average daily temperatures can rise to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). However, during May of 2015, many parts of India were subject to temperatures reaching averages above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius). In the inland city of Daltonganj, Jharkhand in India’s far east, temperatures averaged 115.6 degrees Fahrenheit (43.47 degrees Celsius) during the week of May 24 to May 30. The highest observed temperature of 118.4 degrees Fahrenheit (48.0 degrees Celsius) was recorded on May 24 in the city of Khammam in Telangana. High levels of normal seasonal humidity made conditions even worse, with heat indexes well above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) throughout the country. Ultimately, more than 2,500 people were estimated to have died, with the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana worst hit. Officials warned, however, that as deaths from heat were typically underreported, the final death total had likely been much higher. The heat wave was rated by EM-DAT, an international database of disasters, as the fifth deadliest in history.

The heat wave was caused in part by a series of unusual weather conditions. From December of 2014 through February of 2015, fewer showers were observed throughout India. When these limited rains ended, India was left drier than normal heading into May. Unusual northwesterly wind patterns brushed through the region. These winds pushed back the normal cooler southerly winds that typically keep the seasonal pre-monsoon rains offshore until later in the summer. This change in weather patterns enabled dry, dusty winds (called Pakistan Loo winds) from a series of deserts to the country’s northwest to move across much of India. These conditions may have been the result of the El Niño weather effect that caused warming over the Pacific Ocean near South America. El Niño is known to disrupt weather patterns across the world, bringing flooding and cool temperatures to some areas, and dry heat to others. As drier air heats more easily than moist air, temperatures spiked.

The heat wave finally began dissipating in the first week of June of 2015 when southwesterly winds resumed their normal patterns, allowing cooler and rainier conditions to predominate. The whole of India, including the hardest-hit areas of southeastern India, saw cooler weather seep in by the second week of June.

Impact

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) characterizes a high temperature weather event as a heat wave when air temperatures are observed at 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) or higher in the central plains, or at 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) in the hilly regions to the north and east. These conditions were met or exceeded throughout most of India for more than two weeks beginning May 21.

Beyond the high death total, officials were concerned about the effects of the lengthy heat wave on crops and livestock. In Telangana, more than five million chickens died. Shortages in food staples caused food prices to rise across the affected areas. In Delhi, the heat was strong enough to melt pavement, which led to extensive damage to the city’s infrastructure.

In response, during the height of the heat wave, the Indian government urged residents to wear light-colored clothing and to use umbrellas or head coverings when outside to protect themselves from the worst effects of the heat. Water stations were opened throughout many cities to provide a measure of appeasement from the intense heat. Between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when temperatures were hottest, local government officials asked residents to stay indoors if possible. However, air conditioning is uncommon throughout most of India, so few safe, cool locations were available to the general populace. The homeless and the poor, segments of the Indian population that were particularly hard hit, had nowhere to go. In addition, many of India’s poorest citizens survive day-to-day on their daily wages; they have no nest eggs to rely upon during periods of hardship. Inevitably, these people continued to work in the heat to earn money for food and shelter, leading to higher rates of hospitalization and death among these vulnerable social classes.

This event was recognized as being the result of climate change. For instance, 2015 was rated on a global scale as the hottest year on record to date. World temperatures have averaged a full 1.6 degrees warmer since the start of the twentieth century. As a result, many climatologists warn that extreme hot weather events such as the one that impacted India in May of 2015 may become more common. Because India was already prone to extended heat waves and is home to a large population of vulnerable social castes, the 2015 event may only be a warning sign of worse weather events to come.

Previous extreme heat events had prompted India to implement some protective plans for events such as the 2015 heatwave. After a heatwave in Ahmedabad in 2010 killed 1,300 people, the Indian government’s Natural Resources Defense Council worked with Ahmedabad officials to create a Heat Health Action Plan. As part of this directive, healthcare workers across the region received specialized training to identify and treat the symptoms of heatstroke more quickly. The government was also seeking funds to upgrade its forecast systems to predict potential heat waves earlier, thus enabling officials to coordinate action plans that could lessen the number of potential fatalities by establishing more water stations and shelters for the homeless.

Bibliography

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