India and Pakistan heatwave is ‘testing the limits of human survivability’
The average maximum temperature for northwest and central India in April was theSome Indian states, including West Bengal and Odisha, have announced school closures to deal with the rising temperatures. “Children who have to traveled to school, many of them are getting nosebleeds, they can’t tolerate this heatwave,” West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters last week. In recent years, both the federal and state governments have implemented a number of measures to mitigate the effects of heatwaves, including shutting down schools and issuing health advisories for the public. But according to Chandni Singh, more should be done to prepare for future heatwaves. “We don’t have a heat action plan and there are gaps in planning,” Singh said. “You can only adapt so much. This heatwave is testing the limits of human survivability.” Correction: This story has been updated to correct a conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit.
