Telangana declares heatwaves as state-specific disaster, raises compensation for death to Rs 4 lakh

The Telangana government on Tuesday declared heatwaves, sunstrokes and sunburns as state-specific disasters and increased the financial compensation for death caused by extreme heat to Rs 4 lakh, reported The Indian Express.

The revised compensation, up from the earlier Rs 50,000 provided under the Apathbandhu scheme, will now be drawn from the State Disaster Response Fund, Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar told the newspaper.

The government order came into effect on Tuesday.

“Due to rising global temperatures driven by climate change, Telangana has witnessed increasingly severe and prolonged heatwave events,” The Hindu quoted the order as saying. “According to the Indian Meteorological Department, most parts of the state experienced at least 15 heatwave days in 2024, with districts like Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalli, and Jagtial reporting over 30 days.”

In 2024, 28 of the 33 districts in the state recorded at least 15 heatwave days, the state government noted. The impact had been particularly acute in urban areas such as Hyderabad and its surroundings.

The order said that “the debilitating effect of heat waves is further exacerbated in urban areas due to the Urban Heat Island Impact and Wet Bulb Impact (combining heat and humidity)”.

The Urban Heat Island effect refers to the phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The Wet Bulb...

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