India: Heatstroke Kills 11 at Government Event

Facts

• On Sunday, 12 people died and many others were hospitalized from heatstroke after attending an hours-long government-sponsored award ceremony held in India's Maharashtra state.¹
• The Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony was organized to celebrate the work of Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, a social reformer and spiritual leader. The event was held in an open field in the Kharghar locality and reportedly lacked suitable facilities resulting in heat-related illnesses and deaths.²
• It is estimated that 1M people attended the event during the hottest time of the day. The deadly heat conditions hospitalized at least 50 people and the majority of the ill and deceased were elderly women.³
• Temps soared to 38°C (100°F) over the open field of observers. Several officials including the union home minister, deputy chief minister, and home minister attended the event but were seated under a covered dais. According to an official, the event reportedly violated the district's heat action plan.⁴
• Eknath Shinde, the Maharashtra state's chief minister, visited the hospitalized and promised compensation for the victims and families. The opposing party, the Congress Party, called the event negligent and demanded criminal charges.⁵
• Since 2010, more than 6.5K people in India have died from heat-related illnesses.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Bq prime, ³Hindustan times, ⁴The times of india and ⁵Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by World weather attribution. March 2022 saw the hottest March recorded in India in 122 years since records began. Coupled with the heat came a significant reduction in rainfall leading to scorching hot and dry conditions throughout the country. While heatwaves are not uncommon, the increase in deaths from extreme heat during unusual times from severe conditions proves climate change is devastatingly impacting the region. Climate scientists believe that the likelihood of similar events as March 2022, has increased 30-fold because of global changes. India is on the front lines of the climate threat.
• Narrative B, as provided by Bloomberg. The Indian government must do better in preparation for heat waves, regardless of the cause. The Indian government is failing to protect people from rising heat. In a country where less than 10% of people have access to air conditioning and the annual death rate due to heat-related illness is climbing, negligence is causing unnecessary deaths in sweltering conditions.