May 31, (THEWILL) – An Indian High Court sitting in the western state of Rajasthan has directed the government to declare a national emergency over the country’s ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather.
India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
In a ruling on Thursday, the High Court said authorities had failed to take appropriate steps to protect the public from the heat.
“Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of (the) heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month. We do not have a planet B which we can move onto… If we do not take strict action now, we will lose the chance of seeing our future generations flourish forever,” the court declared while directing the State Government of Rajasthan to set up compensation funds for relatives of any person who dies as a result of heat ailments.
Ruling on the heatwave and such events in the future, the Court said India should begin declaring them “national calamities”.
“This would allow the mobilisation of emergency relief in a similar manner to floods, cyclones and natural disasters,” it added.
The world’s most populous nation is the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but has committed to achieving a net zero emissions economy by 2070 — two decades after most of the industrialised West.
As temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, shot up this week, power usage in the city of an estimated 30 million people surged to a record high on Wednesday.
The government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third term in ongoing elections, says fossil fuel remains central to meeting India’s rising energy needs and lifting millions out of poverty.
