KOHIMA — While 57% of Indian districts are
currently grappling with extreme heatwaves, a recent report by the Delhi-based
climate think tank, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), has
highlighted that Northeast India—including Nagaland—and Jammu & Kashmir are
experiencing declining relative humidity levels and face relatively lower heat
risks.
The report found that most hilly regions in India, including
those in the Northeast, generally exhibit low to very low heat hazard levels.
However, Arunachal Pradesh was identified as the only northeastern state
classified by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as heatwave-prone.
According to CEEW’s Heat Risk Index (HRI), the northeastern
states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim,
along with Himachal Pradesh, have an overall HRI of 18. Most of these states
fall within the low to moderate risk range, except for Tripura and Assam, which
are placed in the ‘high risk’ category.
The study highlighted the importance of regional insurance
models tailored to districts or states with similar heat risk levels to enhance
financial resilience and provide timely compensation for heat-related losses.
It cited Nagaland as a pioneering example, where such a mechanism has already
been implemented.
In March this year, the Nagaland State Disaster Management
Authority (NSDMA) announced the successful processing of its first claim under
the Disaster Risk Transfer Parametric Insurance Solution (DRTPS). The claim,
covering the monsoon period of 2024–2025, amounted to a little more than INR 1
crore and will be distributed to affected beneficiaries through the
Decentralised Relief Payment System (DRTPS)—a digital gateway developed by
NSDMA for direct account transfers.
The insurance initiative was enabled by a multi-tier
agreement signed between NSDMA (under the Home Department) and SBI General
Insurance in early 2024.
This risk transfer solution aims to enhance Nagaland’s
disaster preparedness and financial resilience in the face of climate-induced
hazards.
Building on Nagaland’s example, the CEEW study recommended
the development of regional parametric insurance mechanisms nationwide,
especially to compensate outdoor workers for heat-induced livelihood losses.
The assessment, which covered 734 districts across India,
placed 417 in the high to very high risk categories, 201 in moderate risk, and
116 in low-risk zones.
However, the report cautioned that even low-risk
districts are not immune, only relatively less exposed to heatwave impacts.
The study also flagged concerning trends such as an increase
in very warm nights; rising relative humidity across North India, particularly
in the Indo-Gangetic Plain; and higher heat exposure in dense urban and
economically vital areas like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and
Bhubaneswar.
In addition, several rural districts in Maharashtra, Kerala,
Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar—home to large populations of agricultural and outdoor
workers—were found to be highly vulnerable to extreme heat.
The report further noted that heatwaves in India typically
originate in the northwest and spread towards the northeast and southeast. It
called for detailed studies on heatwave patterns, especially distinguishing
between coastal and land-based heatwaves.
