According to a new report, severe heat waves, which have caused thousands of deaths across India over the past few decades, are occurring more frequently than ever before. Soon, the nation may experience heat waves that are too intense for humans to survive, making it one of the first places in the world to do so.
The country is reportedly experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and last much longer, according to a World Bank report titled "Climate Investment Opportunities in India's Cooling Sector."
"India had a terrible early spring heat wave in April 2022 that brought the nation to a stop and caused temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, to rise to 46 degrees Celsius (C) (114 degrees Fahrenheit). The warmest month ever recorded was March, which had very high temperature rises "It stated.
The two-day "India Climate and Development Partners' Meet," which is being organized by the World Bank in collaboration with the Kerala government, will include the report's release.
It stated that the recent heat wave supports what many climate scientists have long warned about with regard to rising temperatures across South Asia, predicting that heat waves in India could exceed the human survivability limit.
"The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Sixth Assessment Report in August 2021, stating that the Indian subcontinent would experience increasingly frequent and severe heat waves over the ensuing ten years.
According to the paper, if carbon emissions continue to be high, as in the IPCC's worst-case emission scenario, heat waves in India are predicted to persist 25 times longer by 2036–2065.
Additionally, it issued a warning that India's growing heat could endanger economic output.
"Up to 380 million people, or 75% of India's workforce, are dependent on heat-exposed labor, frequently working in potentially lethal temperatures. According to the report, India could be responsible for 34 million of the predicted 80 million job losses worldwide by 2030.
Further, it claimed that among South Asian nations, India suffered the most effects from heat exposure on hard labor, losing more than 101 billion hours annually.
According to a McKinsey & Company analysis, by the end of this decade, lost labor due to rising temperatures and humidity might threaten up to 4.5 percent of India's GDP, or roughly $150–250 billion.
A trustworthy cold chain network will be necessary for India's long-term food security and public health security, according to the report. It takes a working cold-chain refrigeration system to transport food and pharmaceutical products across India.
"Fresh fruit can rot and vaccine effectiveness can be diminished by a single temperature blip during transportation, shattering the cold chain. Only 4% of India's fresh produce is protected by cold chain facilities, resulting in estimated annual food losses of USD 13 billion "It stated.
Additionally, it was mentioned that prior to COVID-19, India, the third-largest pharmaceutical producer in the world, lost about 20% of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25% of vaccines as a result of faulty cold chains, resulting in losses of USD 313 million annually.
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