National Workshop on Heatwaves, climate change and its impacts on economic and energy policies of India
This workshop aims to explore the effects of heatwaves on policy-making and to develop strategies to address this critical issue. Apply now to learn from experts, exchange ideas, and contribute to developing effective policies to mitigate the impacts of heatwaves. Apply now for a 2-Day residential workshop in Bangalore, India.
Background
While 2022 set a record with 200 heatwave days in India with some of the hottest months since 1901 and impacting nearly 70% of the country, spring went missing in 2023 as well. February this year was declared the hottest in the last 123 years, the first ever since 1901.
In a country like India, which is densely populated, the extreme heat hits the poor the hardest who are working as urban or rural labour without access to cooling. The prolonged exposure to high temperatures and wet-bulb conditions can lead to high risks of heat stroke and a range of physiological impacts. 90 deaths were reported in 2022 due to extreme heat stress. Increasing global mean temperatures due to more intense and frequent heat waves would result in inadequate circumstances as few regions meet and exceed limits to human survivability.
State-run India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already predicted an increased probability of heatwaves during April and May. Having gone through a heat-driven power shortage crisis last year, the government has already started boosting fuel imports to meet soaring demand during the upcoming summer months.
Agenda
DAY 1:
| Welcome, introduction and purpose of training | Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends | |
| The challenges of forecasting and heat trends observed by India Meteorological Department | Dr Naresh Kumar, DGM, National Weather Forecasting Centre, India Meteorological Department | |
| TEA BREAK | ||
| Understanding the variation in weather patterns and the need for early warning systems | Dr Raghu Murtugudde, Faculty, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay | |
| The impacts of heat on rural vs urban geographies: Urban heat island impacts and vulnerability of major crop production zones | Dr Vimal Mishra, Professor, IIT Gandhinagar | |
| LUNCH BREAK | ||
| Understanding attribution science: Human induced climate change and heatwaves | Dr Friederike Otto, World Weather Attribution (via zoom) | |
| Power sector preparedness for increasing heatwaves: Infrastructure vulnerability and demand-supply gaps | Bharath Jairaj, World Resources Institute | |
| TEA BREAK | ||
| Rising wet-bulb temperatures and labour impact | Dr Luke Parsons, Postdoctoral Associate, Duke University (via Zoom) | |
| Wrap-up for the day | Climate Trends | |
| DAY 2: | ||
| The hurdles in building adaptive capacity: A status check on planning and implementation of heat action plans | Kunal Satyarthi, Joint Secretary, National Disaster Management Agency | |
| Analysing the challenges and progress made under heat action plans across states | Aditya Valiathan Pillai, Centre for Policy Research | |
| Tea Break | ||
| The dominance of climate change on global circulations and its impact on heatwaves and marine heatwaves | Dr Roxy Mathew Koll, Scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune | |
| Lunch Break | ||
| Understanding the need of Heat Action Plan: Building heat and health resilience and preparedness | Dr Abhiyant Tiwari, Natural Resource Defense Council | |
| Explaining the National Program for Climate Change and Human Health and how it can respond to increasing heat threats | Dr Aakash Shrivastava, Additional Director and Lead, National Program for Climate Change and Human Health, National Centre for Disease Control | |
| Tea Break | ||
| Connecting the real-world implications of heat in reportage and how to narrate the climate story | Rajesh Kumar Singh, Bloomberg Gerry Shih, Washington Post Nidhi Jamwal, Gaon Connection |
