UN Reports India Records 40,000 Suspected Heat Stroke Cases This Summer

As of mid-June 30, 2024, India has reported 40,000 suspected heat stroke cases and over 100 deaths since the beginning of summer, according to a United Nations (UN) Call to Action on Extreme Heat report.

The UN Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat brings together perspectives of ten specialised UN entities, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization  (ILO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in a first-of-its-kind joint product, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of extreme heat, UN said in a statement on Thursday.

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Global Heat Crisis and Financial Assistance Debate: UN and Indian Government Respond

“In the past 100 days alone, we witnessed heat-related deaths in countries from Saudi Arabia to India, heatstroke warnings across Japan, schools closing in Bangladesh and the Philippines, severe heat warnings issued by governments in Southeast Europe, and new temperature records across the United States,” the Call to Action said. 

The UN declaration came a day after the Earth Sciences ministry informed the Lok Sabha that the 15th Finance Commission did not find much merit in the request to expand the scope of disasters eligible for financial assistance and hence extreme heat is not yet considered to be a natural disaster or calamity eligible for assistance. Responding to another question, the ministry said that heat wave deaths are reducing in the country due to better weather prediction.

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ILO Report Highlights Extreme Heat Risks for Global Workforce

New data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) warns that over 70% of the global workforce – 2.4 billion people – are now at high risk of extreme heat, resulting in 22.85 million injuries and 18,970 deaths annually among workers. “Workers in Africa, the Arab states, and Asia and the Asia-Pacific are most exposed to excessive heat. In these regions, 93 per cent, 84 per cent, and 75% of the workforce are affected, respectively As daily temperatures rise above 34°C, labour productivity begins to drop by 50%,” the report said.

A triple strategy of passive cooling, higher energy efficiency and fast phasedown of climate-warming refrigerants offers the opportunity to reduce emissions from the cooling sector while protecting an additional 3.5 billion people at risk from heat by 2050, the UN said.