Heat Action Plans in Other South Asian Countries
- Pakistan Heat Wave Action Plan – The plan aims to protect vulnerable communities by informing them about high temperatures and providing precautions. It follows NDMA guidelines and international expert suggestions, focusing on long-term and short-term strategies. It promotes tree planting to absorb carbon dioxide, provide oxygen, and regulate rainfall, reducing UHI impacts.
- Karachi Heat Wave Action Plan– In 2015, Karachi City experienced a severe heatwave, causing over 1,200 deaths and 50,000 heat illness cases. The Commissioner Office Karachi requested support from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network to develop a heatwave management plan. The first Heatwave Management Plan was developed by national and international experts, covering all aspects of a comprehensive response to heatwave management. The plan is designed for agencies that contribute to managing extreme heat emergencies and those directly dealing with heat stress. (Source: http://www.lead.org.pk/attachments/HeatwaveManagementPlan.pdf
- Nepal Heat Action Plan- The Nepal Disaster Management Act, implemented in 2017, identifies Heat Wave as a disaster, aiming to reduce summer temperatures to 43-450C. The plan targets vulnerable groups such as poor, elderly, children, and local vendors. To mitigate the impact, the government has established a Rapid Response Team, alerted hospitals, created awareness teams, and media management. Institutional measures include water distribution points and additional funds for heat wave management.
- Sri Lanka Heat Action Plan- Sri Lanka average temperature has increased by 1.0 C over the last 60 years from 1961 to 2010 (Premalal, 2010), along with the number of days with higher temperature values has also been reported during recent years. It has been observed that
