20 March 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1. Heat and the hope

(Source – Indian Express, Section – The Editorial Page – Page No. – 10)

Escalating Temperatures and Their Impact

• As the equinox approaches and the Sun climbs higher in the sky, people in the Northern Hemisphere are bracing for potentially record-breaking heat.
• The past few years have set alarming temperature records, with 2023 being the hottest year on record—until 2024 left it far behind.
• Now, 2025 has already started with unprecedented warmth. Delhi recorded its hottest February in decades, and Mumbai has already experienced a heatwave.
• The India Meteorological Department predicts that March could set new records, with heat expected to intensify throughout the spring and summer.
• The human toll of extreme heat is becoming increasingly evident, with fatalities already mounting in India and globally.
• The situation underscores the urgency of addressing heat as a growing public health and environmental crisis.

Historical Perspective on Heat and Human Adaptation

• Human vulnerability to heat is not a new phenomenon. Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle believed that humans could not survive in tropical climates.
• However, European explorers in the 15th century discovered that human resilience in hot climates was possible—often by exploiting indigenous knowledge and labor.
• Colonizers learned how to adjust to heat through changes in diet, clothing, and daily routines, often relying on enslaved or indentured workers from Africa and India.
• Scientific understanding of human heat tolerance also evolved. By the 18th century, scientists understood that humans could regulate body temperature through sweating and evaporative cooling.
• Stories of extreme heat endurance, such as workers surviving inside ovens, became popular in scientific journals and public imagination, highlighting both the limits and adaptability of the human body.

Urban Heat and Rising Death Tolls

• The relationship between humans and heat changed dramatically with urbanization and industrialization.
• By the early 19th century, scientists in Europe and the U.S. identified the “urban heat island” effect—where cities remained warmer than the surrounding countryside due to human activity.
• Reports of deadly heatwaves became common in global media. India has faced particularly extreme events: Calcutta reached 40°C in 1905, killing animals and several Europeans.
• In 1956, Alwar hit 50.6°C, a record later broken by Phalodi’s 51.0°C in 2016.
• The health impacts of heat became more evident over time. In the early 20th century, doctors focused on laborers in factories, but by the 1960s, health authorities realized that the elderly, the poor, and those with health conditions were most at risk.
• In 2022, over 60,000 heat-related deaths were reported in Europe, while India has also seen devastating tolls—such as the 1,300 deaths in Odisha in 1998 and over 2,500 across India in 2015.
• Yet, official death tolls from the record heat in 2024 were reported as just 360, though independent analyses suggested it was closer to 733.

Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect

• Heat waves have transformed from natural events into clear indicators of global warming.
• By the 1980s, scientists established that burning fossil fuels was driving the “greenhouse effect,” raising global temperatures.
• In 2024, average temperatures were already 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
• A major concern is the rise in “wet-bulb temperatures,” which measure the combined effect of heat and humidity.
• When wet-bulb temperatures exceed 35°C, the human body’s cooling mechanisms fail, leading to lethal consequences.
• Some scientists argue that even a wet-bulb temperature of 31°C can be dangerous.
• The threat of combined heat and humidity raises the stakes for human survival in a rapidly warming world.

Variability of Heat Exposure

• Not everyone experiences heat equally, even within the same city.
• Scientists and policymakers are increasingly focused on the uneven distribution of heat exposure, which depends on urban design, building materials, and access to cooling infrastructure.
• Studies in Ahmedabad have shown that heat exposure can vary even within the same apartment complex.
• Reports of Delhi reaching 52.9°C last May turned out to be false due to a malfunctioning thermometer—the actual temperature was 49.9°C.
• However, it’s only a matter of time before Phalodi’s 51.0°C record is broken.
• These variations highlight the need for tailored, local solutions to heat resilience rather than relying solely on citywide averages.

Conclusion

• The future remains uncertain. While human bodies have shown remarkable adaptability to heat, the scale and intensity of global warming could exceed our natural limits.
• Some cities have implemented heat action plans, and scientists are working on strategies to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures.
• However, reversing the greenhouse effect will require coordinated global action, including reducing fossil fuel consumption and investing in sustainable infrastructure.
• The question remains: What will it take to motivate such large-scale action? Hope alone is not enough—decisive action and innovative solutions are essential to prevent catastrophic heat-related outcomes in the future.

Check this out 19 March 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis