Centre, NHRC Sound Alert, Asks States To Mobilise Resources To Protect Vulnerable Populations From Heatwaves

With large parts of the country already reeling under rising temperatures and forecasts predicting an intense summer ahead, the Centre and NHRC have asked States and Union Territories to urgently strengthen preparedness measures to prevent heat-related deaths, particularly among vulnerable populations, outdoor workers, and the urban poor.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Ministries of Labour and Health have issued a series of advisories directing States to step up mitigation efforts and ensure that relief systems are operational at the ground level.

The NHRC, in communications sent to 21 States and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, urged authorities to take advance action in accordance with existing Standard Operating Procedures and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines.

The Commission observed that the increasing frequency, duration, and intensity of heatwaves were disproportionately affecting economically weaker sections, the homeless, outdoor labourers, and those without adequate shelter or access to cooling resources.

“The elderly, children, infants, and newborns are especially susceptible to the health impacts of extreme heat,” the Commission noted, while highlighting that heatwaves also lead to loss of livelihoods and increase the risk of fire accidents.

Drawing attention to National Crime Records Bureau data, the NHRC said 3,712 people died due to heat or sunstroke in India between 2019 and 2023, while cautioning that the actual burden could be much higher because of underreporting.

The Commission stressed that heatwaves were no longer merely seasonal climatic events but a serious humanitarian and public health challenge requiring a coordinated institutional response. It has asked States to submit consolidated action-taken reports detailing the measures initiated to prevent casualties.

Simultaneously, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a nationwide advisory directing States, Union Territories, and affiliated agencies to adopt immediate preventive and mitigation measures for workers exposed to extreme temperatures.

The Ministry called for a “coordinated, multi-sectoral, and multi-dimensional approach” to safeguard labourers employed in outdoor and labour-intensive sectors such as construction, mining, brick kilns, and daily wage occupations.

“India has been experiencing above-normal temperatures during the summer months across most parts of the country each year, with workers and labourers being the worst sufferers of extreme heatwave conditions,” Labour Secretary Vandana Gurnani said in the advisory.

She said that States have been advised to instruct employers, industries, and construction firms to reschedule working hours wherever necessary, particularly during peak afternoon heat. The advisory also directed employers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water, create shaded rest areas, and improve cooling and ventilation arrangements at workplaces.

Emergency ice packs, oral rehydration solutions, and other heat illness prevention materials have also been recommended at worksites vulnerable to prolonged heat exposure.

Factory and mine managements have been asked to allow flexibility in work schedules, slow the pace of physically demanding work during extreme heat hours, and deploy two-person crews where continuous operations are unavoidable.

Special emphasis has been laid on awareness generation among informal sector workers, who often remain outside formal occupational safety frameworks despite facing the highest exposure to heat stress.

Authorities have been advised to conduct awareness drives at labour chowks and public spaces and display posters carrying information on heatwave symptoms, preventive measures, and emergency contact numbers.

Training programmes through the Directorate General of Training and the National Board for Workers’ Education have also been planned to sensitise workers about hydration practices, early signs of heat stress, and first-aid response.

The Union Health Ministry, meanwhile, a day ago separately directed State health authorities to activate emergency medical preparedness systems to deal with heatstroke cases.

In an advisory issued to States, Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava asked officials to take four urgent measures: establish dedicated heatstroke management units at all health facilities, ensure ambulance services remain fully functional and adequately staffed, disseminate early warnings to communities, and report heatstroke cases in real time through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).

“Your personal intervention in reviewing heat season preparedness while ensuring implementation of the aforementioned actions will be key to safeguarding public health and preventing avoidable heat-related mortality,” Srivastava said.

She also stressed that timely reporting of heat-related illnesses and deaths was essential for tracking the scale of the crisis and mobilising resources where they were most needed.

Hospitals and dispensaries functioning under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation and the Directorate General of Labour Welfare have additionally been directed to establish dedicated help desks for heatstroke cases and maintain adequate stocks of ORS, ice packs, and emergency medical supplies.

Enforcement agencies, including the Chief Labour Commissioner and the Directorate General of Mines Safety, have been instructed to monitor compliance with workplace safety norms related to ventilation, cooling facilities, and access to drinking water.

Public health experts have repeatedly warned that climate change, rapid urbanisation, and environmental degradation are contributing to longer and more severe heatwaves across India. They caution that migrant workers, homeless populations, and people employed in informal sectors remain at greatest risk because of poor housing conditions, inadequate healthcare access, and weak social protection systems.