Abstract
Over the recent years, unparalleled heat waves driven by climate change with more severity, intensity, and frequency have been recorded in Delhi, with 2019 being the warmest year on record. Extreme heat is a serious public health concern and one of the leading causes of weather-related fatalities. The major aim of this study is to examine the awareness and perception of and attitudes toward the heat waves and associated health risk and the co** practices adopted, among a group of residents in NCT of Delhi. A cross-sectional study was conducted during April–May 2020 among the sample of 180 residents of Delhi. Information related to socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, and awareness regarding heat waves, heat illness history reported during the summer, and the various co** practices adopted to combat extreme heat were collected and analyzed. The results of the survey found that a majority of the respondents (75.6%) considered heat waves a disaster and extreme heat a serious public health risk. It was observed that the main sources from which respondents received information about heat waves were Internet/social media (75.6%) and newspapers (50%). More females considered heat waves a disaster and a serious health risk and were likely to be more informed than males. The main issues that concerned the respondents during the heat wave events were their health, safety of birds, animals and pets, relatives/family/friends, etc. A majority of the respondents felt uncomfortable during a heat wave event. A majority of the respondents (85.6%) experienced a loss in productivity level at workplace. Most of the respondents (53.3%) have also experienced some kind of extreme heat-related symptoms or illness, among which heat exhaustion was on the top. Top co** practices adopted to get protection from extreme heat included using fan/AC/cooler and drinking sufficient water. Such findings may inform the policymakers in reframing and communication strategies for heat waves in Delhi and help people to be better prepared in the event of heat waves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- HW:
-
Heat waves
- HSL:
-
Higher Secondary Level
- CHZ:
-
Core Heat wave Zone
References
Akerlof K, DeBono R, Berry P, Leiserowitz A et al (2010) Public perceptions of climate change as a human health risk: surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta. Int J Environ Res Public Health 7(6):2559–2606
Akompab DA, Bi P, Williams S, Grant J, Walker IA, Augoustinos M (2012) Awareness of and attitudes towards heat waves within the context of climate change among a cohort of residents in Adelaide, Australia. Int J Environ Res Public Health 10(1):1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10010001
Azhar GS (2019) Indian summer: three essays on heatwave vulnerability, estimation and adaptation [Doctoral dissertation, Pardee RAND Graduate School-Santa Monica, California, USA]. RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RGSD431
Azhar GS, Mavalankar D, Nori-Sarma A, Rajiva A, Dutta P et al (2014) Heat-related mortality in India: excess all-cause mortality associated with the 2010 Ahmedabad heat wave. PLoS ONE 9(3):e91831. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091831
Bhushan C (2019) Heatwaves to become more intense, declare it a natural disaster. Financial Express, June 19. https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/heatwaves-to-become-more-intense-declare-it-a-natural-disaster/1611696/lite/
Chaudhary J (2018) Is Delhi prepared to beat the heat this summer? India Climate Dialogue, April 13. https://indiaclimatedialogue.net/2018/04/13/is-delhi-prepared-to-beat-the-heat-this-summer/
Chauhan C (2019) India staring at longest heatwave in 3 decades, monsoon relief unlikely soon. Hindustan Times, June 12. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-staring-at-longest-heatwave-in-3-decades/story-zM1sSWQ3p63smxTErFVClJ.html
Delhi Experiences Hottest Day of the Season on Friday; Cyclone Amphan Partly to Blame (2020) The Weather Channel, May 22. https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2020-05-22-delhi-experiences-hottest-day-season-friday-cyclone-amphan-blame
Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi (2017) Delhi state action plan on climate change. http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Delhi-State-Action-Plan-on-Cimate-Change.pdf
District Disaster Management Authority (2018) Heat wave action plan-2016 Hazaribagh. https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3ed265bc903a5a097f61d3ec064d96d2e/uploads/2018/05/2018052643.pdf
Easterling D, Evans J, Groisman P, Karl T, Kunkel K, Ambenje P (2000) Observed variability and trends in extreme climate events. Bull Am Meteor Soc 81(3):417–425. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(2000)081%3C0417:OVATIE%3E2.3.CO;2
Eckstein D, Künzel V, Schäfer L, Winges M (2020) Global climate risk index: who suffers most from extreme weather events? Weather-related loss events in 2018 and 1999 to 2018. GermanWatch. https://www.germanwatch.org/sites/default/files/20-2-01e%20Global%20Climate%20Risk%20Index%202020_14.pdf
Howe P, Marlon J, Wang X, Leiserowitz A (2019) Public perceptions of the health risks of extreme heat across US states, counties, and neighborhoods. Proc Natl Acad Sci 116(14):6743–6748. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813145116
Indian Meteorological Department (2020) Forecast demonstration project (FDP) for improving heat wave warning over India, implementation report, 2019 (Report No.: ESSO/IMD/FDP/Heat Wave Warning Implementation Report-2019/02(2020)/10) https://internal.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/fdpheatreport2019.pdf
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014) Human health: impacts, adaptation, and cobenefits. In: Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-9-160
Lee V, Zermoglio F, Ebi KL (2019) Heat waves and human health: emerging evidence and experience to inform risk management in a warming world. ‘Technical Report’, USAID, Washington DC. https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/2019_USAID-ATLAS_Heat-Waves-and-Human-Health.pdf
Liberto TD (2015) India heat wave kills thousands. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, June 19. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/india-heat-wave-kills-thousands
Mashal M (2019) India heat wave, soaring up to 123 degrees, has killed at least 36. The New York Times, June 13. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/india-heat-wave-deaths.html
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India (2020) Assessment of climate change over Indian region. https://reliefweb.int/report/india/assessment-climate-change-over-indian-region-report-ministry-earth-sciences-moes
Murari KK, Ghosh S, Patwardhan A, Daly E, Salvi K (2015) Intensification of future severe heat waves in India and their effect on heat stress and mortality. Reg Environ Change 15(4):569–579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-014-0660-6
National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India (2019) Guidelines for preparation of action plan—prevention and management of heat-wave. http://ndma.gov.in/images/guidelines/guidelines-heat-wave.pdf
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Odisha (2017) Heatwave action plan for Odisha 2017. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/hap_2017.pdf
Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2013) Census of India 2011: primary census abstract, data highlights, NCT of Delhi. https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/PCA_Highlights/pca_highlights_file/Delhi/DATA_SHEET_PCA_DISTRICTS_NCT_OF_DELHI.pdf
Planning Department, Government of NCT of Delhi (2019) Economic survey of Delhi 2018–19. http://delhiplanning.nic.in/sites/default/files/Final%20Economy%20survey%20English.pdf
Robine J-M, Cheung SLK, Le Roy S, Van Oyen H, Griffiths C, Michel J-P, Herrmann FR (2008) Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003. CR Biol 331(2):171–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2007.12.001
Sharma R, Hooyberghs H, Lauwaet D, Ridder KD (2019) Urban heat island and future climate change—implications for Delhi’s heat. J Urban Health 96:235–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0322-y
Singh S, Singhal A (2019) Heat wave: trend analysis of Delhi. Int J Adv Res Pub 3(10):97–101. http://www.ijarp.org/published-research-papers/oct2019/Heat-Wave-Trend-Analysis-Of-Delhi.pdf
Singh S, Nath S, Kohli R, Singh R (2005) Aerosols over Delhi during pre-monsoon months: characteristics and effects on surface radiation forcing. Geophys Res Lett 32(13). https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023062
Trenberth KE, Fasulo JT (2012). Climate extremes and climate change: the Russian heat wave and other climate extremes of 2010. J Geophys Res Atmos 117(D17). https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD018020
Watts N, Amann M, Arnell N, Ayeb-Karlsson S et al (2020) Countdown on health and climate change: responding to converging crises. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32290-X
World Health Organization (2018) Climate change: heat and health, June 1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank the Almighty God for giving me this opportunity and the strength to complete this research paper. The completion of the research paper on “Analysis of Public Awareness, Health Risks and Co** Strategies against heat waves in NCT of Delhi, India” would not have been possible without the help and cooperation of so many individuals. I would like to express my heartiest thanks and deep sense of gratitude to my professor, Dr. Praveen Kumar Pathak, for his guidance, enthusiasm, immense knowledge, and motivation for completing the paper. I would also like to acknowledge professor Haroon Sajjad for his patience and useful advice to further enhance the paper. A special mention to Dr. Rakhi Parijat, Associate professor, Miranda House College, Delhi University for her valuable suggestions and inspiration. I want to thank my family, especially my mother and my fiancé for their constant support, patience, care, love, affection, and encouragement. Lastly, I want to thank all the respondents who took part in the survey for their time and effort.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Maheshwari, V. (2022). Analysis of Public Awareness, Health Risks, and Co** Strategies Against Heat Waves in NCT of Delhi, India. In: Sajjad, H., Siddiqui, L., Rahman, A., Tahir, M., Siddiqui, M.A. (eds) Challenges of Disasters in Asia. Springer Natural Hazards. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3567-1_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3567-1_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-3566-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-3567-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)