Goa has a hot-humid climate regime in summer and election related activity will peak now and culminate in voting on May 7
Here’s another testimony to the impending climate calamity. The meticulously prepared ‘Goa State Action Plan for Climate Change’ has warned, that by 2040 maximum temperature of 40 degrees C will be commonly recorded in the state.
The heat wave typically afflicting the northern arid states is just lurking round the corner in Goa. The consequences of this temperature rise cannot be ignored, and Goa must not only be prepared to fight this climate emergency, but also invest in climate adaptation and resilience on war footing!
In February the state sealed a deal with World Bank to set up a ‘blended finance facility’ towards establishing a climate fund for its climate resilient initiatives, offering a template for other Indian states to replicate. Climate science today is robust enough to allay scepticism; and predictions based on modelling are confident enough to evoke a sense of urgency.
On March 14, Goa Government gazette-notified ‘Goa Heat wave Action Plan 2024’ detailing prevention and mitigation of impacts of heat wave in the state and identifying several stakeholders’ departments and their responsibilities.
Scientists have red-flagged that the freshwaters, estuaries, seas, and oceans have already been affected by climate change and that these effects will be exacerbated in future. In such warm water bodies polluted by excessive land-based nutrients, cyanobacteria thrive and cause severe algal blooms that further heat the surface waters.
Algal blooms produce cyanotoxins like Microcystin-LR, Cylindrospermopsin and Anatoxin that can have a range of adverse health effects like allergy, gastrointestinal and respiratory distress in exposed people. Gradually, such clogged waterbodies lose dissolved oxygen and finally turn into ‘biological deserts’ with no life. In the seas and rivers, this ushers in ‘fish famines’ impacting the fishery sector negatively. Increased acidity in such hypoxic/anoxic waterbodies can upset the aquatic chemistry and disrupt many critical life processes, as also adversely change the species composition and community structure of these ecosystems.
Forests are vulnerable to frequent fires following heat waves. The recent spate of forest fires in north-east and central India is an evidence of this correlation. Once the forest goes up in flames; habitat is degraded, fodder for wildlife depletes, and relictual species are decimated. The gaps caused by fire clearance invite the invasive species to colonise and dominate.
Although a heat wave is a meteorological event, it cannot be assessed without reference to human impacts. Heat related illnesses and fatalities will increase, requiring of the public health care systems to be ‘risk-resilient’. Increasing episodes of heat waves expose people to extreme weather beyond human endurance, necessitating use of air-conditioners for cooling living spaces. Demand for electricity will increase causing power shortages and hitting the energy sector. Already the congested and concretised urban spaces trap hot air and have created heat islands. Urban planners must introduce green roofs, natural cooling techniques, spray-parks for cooling, and creation of urban forests in city infrastructure to ensure long term sustainability of the city environment.
Goa is a prominent tourist destination, endowed with sunbathed shores, splendid cuisine, hospitable culture and of course the sunny weather. Regrettably, as the climate change sweeps the globe; Goa’s climate is changing fast and significantly to merit urgent attention.
The state is blessed with plentiful rains brought in by the South-West Monsoons and has a pleasant climate with mean annual temperature of about 26°C. However, the Goa’s State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) to which the second author has contributed significantly, highlights that the mean annual temperature in the state has increased by more than 1°C in the last century; much higher than the all-India average of 0.73°C. Such observed temperature rise in Goa and other maritime states on west coast is fuelled by rapidly warming Arabian Sea.
In the last couple of years, daily maximum temperature in Goa has crossed even 39°C on a few occasions, and the Goa’s SAPCC warns that it may cross 40°C and beyond during peak summer months in near future. The likely breach of 40°C threshold is particularly alarming, since World Meteorological Organization has fixed 40°C as the threshold for heat waves in plain areas. Heat waves in combination with high levels of humidity, is a life-threatening ‘weather combo’. High levels of humidity hinder body’s ability to cool itself through sweating, hence at lower temperatures in a humid environment one feels much hotter. Projected heatwaves are particularly concerning for a coastal state like Goa, which has high levels of humidity. The scary part is that the humidity is also projected to be rising in a warming world – with every 10 C temperature rise, water holding capacity of air increasing by around 7%.
Conventional weather reports including in Goa, provide dry air temperatures, but to reflect effects of humidity a measure known as ‘wet-bulb temperature’ is useful. Beyond 35 degrees C Wet Bulb Temperature (approximately air temperature of 40°C with a relative humidity of 75%) a healthy person can survive only for six hours. It is important to take humid heat seriously. Our daily temperature readings must integrate humidity in their reporting.
While heatwaves and their risks are well known in India, humid-heat waves can also have serious consequences, unfortunately though these events draw feeble attention. Exactly a year ago during an open-air event in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai at prevailing air temperature of just 38 degrees C, 13 people died and 50 were hospitalised due to heat wave. Goa has a similar hot-humid climate regime in summer and election related activity will peak now and culminate in voting on May 7. Health sector in Goa must gear up to face these novel challenges of heat related infirmity and fatality.
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer must take suo moto cognizance of this weather scenario here, issue public advisory and take the necessary precautions like establishing a Heat Relief Centre, Sun-sheds, providing wet-wipes, ORS sachets and fluids, hand-held fans to mitigate the health effects on deployed personnel and voters in anticipation of a likely heat wave. After all an early warning based on robust meteorological data model can save precious lives.
