• Source:JND
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Delhi Heat: A recent study has revealed a worrying link between rising heat stress in Delhi and a rise in unrecognised human deaths in the national capital. The report by Greenpeace India highlights the surge in unidentified deaths among the city’s vulnerable population, primarily the homeless and outdoor workers. It also raises concern over growing heat during the monsoon months. Once a period of relief, the rainy season now exposes residents to extreme heat stress due to high humidity.

Titled ‘Death and Degree: Establishing a Relationship of Death and Heat in Scorched Delhi’, the report brings to light how heat stress has increased fatality among the underprivileged people. In 2024, as many as 192 homeless people died within a period of nine days between June 11 and June 19. This was the highest death toll recorded in two decades.

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Based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), the study found that from 2015 to 2024, June, July, and August consistently recorded dangerously high heat stress levels. The average UTCI values were logged at 33.6 degrees Celsius in June, 32.4 degrees Celsius in July, and 31.9 degree Celsius in August. These levels rival those of peak summer months, with July and August seeing mean UTCI values above 31.5 degrees Celsius, and peaking at 34.4 degree Celsius in July 2019.

The unrecognised deaths closely mirrored these extreme heat periods. In 2019, Delhi recorded 5,341 such deaths, with June being the deadliest month, logging 657 deaths and a peak UTCI of 34.2 degrees Celsius. Between 2022 and 2024, Delhi saw a record 11,819 unidentified deaths, with June 2024 alone witnessing 192 homeless deaths in just nine days.

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Selomi Garnaik of Greenpeace India warned that the heat crisis is a systemic failure, stating, “Unless urgent measures are taken to recognise heat as a disaster, Delhi will continue to lose lives in silence.” Dr Manoranjan Ghosh, expert in environmental science, pointed out the clinical challenge in certifying heat-related deaths but stressed the clear statistical correlation.

As monsoon months continue to feel like peak summer, experts call for urgent public health action to protect vulnerable communities from this silent killer.