According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Non-traditional security threats are those emanated by the non-state actors. These are threats to the state’s existence and citizens’ well-being that often arise from non-military factors, such as viral diseases, environmental degradation, climate change, and heat waves.”
South Asia is a region recognized for its cultural and religious diversity. It includes seven countries; Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives, with a combined population exceeding 1.8 Billion people. Among these, Pakistan and India are the largest countries in the region, facing extreme climate change problems such as rising temperatures.
Extreme heat and humidity pose serious health risks, particularly for elderly people, infants, pregnant women, and children. Without precautionary measures, heat waves can lead to heat stroke and fatalities among the masses. In recent months, heat waves have become an alarming issue in South Asia due to intense climate change. Heat waves have become a prolonged issue in both India and Pakistan. Climate experts had argued that 2023 was the hottest year, but the months of June and July of 2024 predicted more severe than that of 2023. South Asia has been declared the hottest zone on the earth in 2024 due to severe climate change.
Climate experts had argued that 2023 was the hottest year, but the months of June and July of 2024 predicted more severe than that of 2023.
India has been experiencing severe heat waves for the last few years. April 2024 was the hottest ever on record in Mumbai, a city of 21 million people. According to a CNA Insider report, sixty to seventy percent of Mumbai’s population lives in slums, facing extreme heat during summer. Women in these slums are affected while cooking in intense weather. Basic issues like lack of electricity and inadequate water supply exacerbate the impact of heat stroke. Mumbai is a city for both rich and poor people, but they both have different standards of living. Poor people go outside to earn in the extreme heat, while rich people do their work remotely by staying at home.
New Delhi, India’s capital, also experiences severe heat strokes, leading to skin boils and other health issues. It was reported as the worst heat wave in the last 74 years, with body temperatures of affected people rising to 106 or 1070F. Economically weaker people are more vulnerable to this kind of heat than richer people.
In South Asia, Pakistan is also experiencing intense heat waves. Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change, although it contributes less than one percent of the world’s carbon emissions. Over a thousand individuals were killed in 2015 and numerous people were killed in 2022 and 2018 due to the rise in temperature, primarily in Sindh. A severe heat wave caused temperatures in Sindh to start rising on June 20, 2024. Throughout the weekend, Karachi saw temperatures rise over 400C (1040F), peaking at 47.20C (1170F) on June 25. The temperature felt like 490C (120.20F) due to the heat and excessive humidity. As a result, intense heat strokes claimed more than 500 lives in Karachi, and over 1,500 people are undergoing treatment in the city’s hospitals, as per a CNA Insider report. 18 hours of load shedding makes the heat worse. When it’s really hot outside, people go to streams to cool down. Hundreds of people experience heat strokes; many of these patients are sent to hospitals in the southern province’s districts of Hyderabad, Larkana, and Jacobabad.
The “Heatwave Action Plan 2024” was initiated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for Pakistan to reduce the impacts of prolonged heat waves. Because of air pollution, deforestation, and urbanization, Pakistan’s southern and central regions are especially vulnerable to heat waves. In Punjab and Sindh, provincial disaster management authorities have requested the government and policymakers to establish heat wave units to address heat-related illnesses.
As far as India’s heat wave and intensive weather are concerned. The government of India should prevent severe heat strokes, although the government established special care units for heat stroke patients in hospitals. Rapid ice-generating machines and large ceramic tubs are used to bring down the body temperature of patients affected by heat strokes. Additionally, the government has provided shelters to homeless people and collaborates with NGOs that visit slums, run campaigns, and educate people on coping with the heat. But these facilities are available in big cities.
Contrary to Mumbai and New Delhi, facilities in slum areas are very poor, the government should manage retrofit slum roofs to prevent direct heat from the sun. Though it will cost 12,000 Indian rupees or $144 per installation. Furthermore, to prevent extreme heat strokes, people should wear lightweight, loose-fitting, and light-colored clothing to reflect heat and sunlight. Drinking plenty of water (not too cold), and non-alcoholic and decaffeinated drinks, even if not feeling thirsty, is essential. Outdoor workers, at greater risk from excessive heat, must rest and cool down in the shade during breaks.
The government of Pakistan should develop an early warning system to alert communities, set up a hydration system at public places like bus stations, and parks, and also free water coolers to avoid heatwaves. The government should also focus on sustainable green urban planning and renewable energy projects. Both Pakistan and India should develop comprehensive plans to lessen the effects of heat waves. These plans should include increasing investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, public health infrastructure, and improving urban planning with more green spaces and reflective materials to reduce urban heat island effects. Resilience to future heat waves will also be strengthened by building community awareness and preparedness as well as regulations that support sustainable agriculture and water conservation.
The writer is associated with the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]