The Kerala State Heat Action Plan, first published in 2020, is being revised and updated so as to make it more relevant, comprehensive, and inclusive with the harsh summer weather presenting the State with new challenges every year.
The Kerala State HAP 2.0 is expected to be out in about two months, according to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) which drafted the original plan and is now revising it.
The exercise will incorporate wide-ranging aspects linked to heat-related events, including updated information, mental health issues, and behavioural interventions associated with such events, human-animal conflicts and heat, sector-wise interventions, migrant workers, hazard vulnerability and risk assessment (HVRA), temperature projections as well as water management “in a hotter Kerala.”
KSDMA hazard analyst Fahad Marzook presented a bird’s-eye view of the proposed amendments at a workshop on Extreme Heat and Impact on Kerala organised jointly by Asar Social Impact Advisors, Kerala Union of Working Journalists, and the India Meteorological Department.
‘Moodadi - living lab’
The increasing importance of local heat action plans (HAP) will be dealt with in the revision. A few months ago, KSDMA had kicked off a pilot project on creating a ‘comprehensive heat action plan and mitigation plan’ for Moodadi, a coastal panchayat in Kozhikode district, Mr. Marzook said. Moodadi is billed as a “living lab of KSDMA” in matters related to heat mitigation.
HAP 2.0 is expected to go into sector-wise interventions in detail. This includes the impacts on sectors such as agriculture, energy, fisheries, water, and health.
Architectural interventions to reduce heat stress, heat-resilient public spaces and nature-based solutions to threats posed by extreme heat also will be dealt with in the revisions.
The revised HAP is also expected to place emphasis on coordination among government departments and agencies and involving the community and NGOs in mitigating the risks posed by heat-related events.
