Heatwave in India: Govt's 5-member team to visit worst-affected states

On Tuesday, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presided over a high-level meeting to view the country's preparedness in the midst of the gruelling effects of the severe heatwave. 

During the meeting, Mandaviya said that a five-member team from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Health Ministry will go to the states where the heatwave is worst. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), according to the Health Minister has been instructed to recommend measures to minimize the negative effects of heatwave conditions. 

Heatwave in India: Overview

According to Mansukh Mandaviya, a virtual meeting will be held with the state health ministers affected by the severe heatwave. From the Ballia district hospital in Uttar Pradesh, at least 14 new deaths and 178 admissions were reported within 24 hours on Sunday.

Sudhansh Pant, OSD, M/o HFW, Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, M/o HFW, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, DHR, S. Gopalakrishnan, Special Secretary, M/o HFW, and Lav Aggarwal, Addl., all attended the meeting. Dr. M. Srinivas, Secretary of the MoHFW, Dr. Atul Goel, Director of AIIMS, DGHS, and Director of the NCDC, Dr. N. K. Arora, Head of the Covid Task Force at the NTAGI, Dr. M. Mahapatra, DGM, IMD, and other senior officials of the Union Government are among them.

Heatwave in India: Officials

Mandaviya stated at the meeting on Tuesday that “Arrangements will be made at every level for the protection of common life. We want to ensure no one does of a heat stroke. IMD had predicted the possibility of heatwaves, and PM Modi held a meeting in February of this year with this in mind. 

He had requested that the Centre and state governments develop a strategy for heatstroke in light of the heatwave. In 2021, the National Action Plan for Heat-Related Illness was created by the Health Ministry. Additionally, we issued an advisory. Numerous states are currently affected by heatwaves", Mandaviya added.

Additionally, he stated that the heatwave is still ongoing in states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Tomorrow, I will hold a video conference meeting with the ministers of these states' Disaster Management departments".