Heatwave: Prime Minister instructs agencies to ready with mitigation plans for summer heat

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for hot weather in the upcoming summer and instructed all concerned agencies to prepare mitigation measures to deal with the situation.

While holding the meeting the Prime Minister said “separate awareness material should be prepared for different stakeholders including citizens; medical professionals; municipal & panchayat authorities; disaster response teams like firefighters etc”.

He was also instructed to incorporate some multimedia lecture sessions in schools to sensitize children on dealing with extreme heat conditions. 

Modi said that “protocols and dos and don’ts for hot weather should be prepared in accessible formats, and various other modes of publicity like jingles, films, pamphlets etc…should also be prepared and issued”

The Prime Minister asked IMD to issue daily weather forecasts in a manner that can be easily interpreted and disseminated. 

“It was also discussed that TV news channels, FM radio etc. could spend a few minutes daily to explain the daily weather forecast in a manner which would allow citizens to take necessary precautions,” he told the official.

According to the statement from the Prime Minister office, he was briefed about the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) weather forecast for the next few months and on the likelihood of a normal monsoon.

He was also briefed about the impact of weather on Rabi crops and the expected yield of major crops. The efforts underway to monitor irrigation water supply, fodder and drinking water were also reviewed. 

“Prime Minister was briefed about the preparedness of states and hospital infrastructure in terms of availability of required supplies and preparedness for emergencies. He was also updated on various efforts underway across the country to prepare for disasters related to heat and mitigation measures in place” said the statement.