Action Plan helps curb heat-related deaths in Ahmedabad

Believe it or not! The Heat Action Plan, introduced by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in 2013, is doing fairly well. According to AMC's data, the drop death ratio (heat related) has drastically fallen. The city witnessed heavy heat-related deaths In 2010.

Ahmedabad became the first city in South Asia to have extensive plan to tackle heat in 2013. A nodal officer coordinates with other agencies and groups to implement the plan during summer when temperatures go up to 48°C. Once the HAP is activated, AMC issues colour-coded alerts, or heat warnings, based on weather forecast made by MeT department.

For example, a yellow alert is issued when the temperature is expected to range from 41.1°C to 43°C, while an orange alert indicates a range between 43.1°C and 44.9°C. The red alert signifies extreme heat, above 45°C.

Another feather in AMC's cap: AMC is all set to get an award next month for Earth Care Award 2018 under the category 'Leadership in Urban Climate Action'. It is to be noted that AMC's HAP is followed by many cities and states, including Nagpur, Gondia, Chandrapur, Nanded, Akola, and Jalgaon in Maharashtra, as well as Bhubaneswar, Puri, Koraput, and Baleshwar in Odisha. Vijayawada/Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, Rajkot and Surat in Gujarat, Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, Rahat in Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad in Telangana. Eleven Indian states have adopted or are developing statewide Heat Action Plans in 2017 including Odisha, Telangana, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana.