New Delhi: With temperatures soaring across the country, the Centre has called on states to assess their health infrastructure to ensure preparedness for heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses.
In a letter to states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava highlighted the increased risk of extreme heat exposure with the onset of summer. “Some places in the country have already begun experiencing high temperatures,” she stated, while enclosing the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Seasonal Outlook for Summer 2025.
Srivastava underscored the importance of public health and clinical guidelines on ‘Heat and Health,’ available on the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) website. “These guidance documents should be widely disseminated across districts to ensure effective preparedness of health departments and facilities,” she wrote. From March 1, states and union territories have been required to record patient-level data on heatstroke cases through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). Srivastava noted that virtual training sessions on heat-related illness management have already been conducted by the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health under NCDC. “It is essential that these training sessions are carried forward using NCDC-provided materials, ensuring all health professionals are trained in reporting cases on IHIP,” she added.
The Health Secretary also pointed out that daily heat alerts issued by IMD are shared with states through NCDC. “These forecasts, covering the next three to four days, must be promptly communicated to all health facilities,” she instructed.
Srivastava urged state, district, and city health departments to implement Heat-Health Action Plans and coordinate with other agencies in managing and assessing responses to extreme heat. She further called for sustained efforts in raising awareness and training medical officers, healthcare workers, and grassroots health personnel on the early recognition and treatment of heat-related illnesses.
Srivastava urged health facilities to ensure essential medicines, cooling equipment, and drinking water availability while maintaining fire safety compliance. She emphasised uninterrupted power for cooling systems, solar panel use, and energy conservation. She also advised adopting green roofs and shading techniques.