The Telangana government on Tuesday declared heatwaves, sunstrokes and sunburns as state-specific disasters and increased the financial compensation for death caused by extreme heat to Rs 4 lakh, reported The Indian Express.

The revised compensation, up from the earlier Rs 50,000 provided under the Apathbandhu scheme, will now be drawn from the State Disaster Response Fund, Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar told the newspaper.

The government order came into effect on Tuesday.

“Due to rising global temperatures driven by climate change, Telangana has witnessed increasingly severe and prolonged heatwave events,” The Hindu quoted the order as saying. “According to the Indian Meteorological Department, most parts of the state experienced at least 15 heatwave days in 2024, with districts like Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalli, and Jagtial reporting over 30 days.”

In 2024, 28 of the 33 districts in the state recorded at least 15 heatwave days, the state government noted. The impact had been particularly acute in urban areas such as Hyderabad and its surroundings.

The order said that “the debilitating effect of heat waves is further exacerbated in urban areas due to the Urban Heat Island Impact and Wet Bulb Impact (combining heat and humidity)”.

The Urban Heat Island effect refers to the phenomenon where urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The Wet Bulb Impact is a measure of heat stress that combines air temperature and humidity.

“People, especially the construction workers and daily wagers in Hyderabad, Warangal, all the Municipal Corporations, Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration, and all the Urban Local Bodies are vulnerable to heatwaves and sun strokes,” the order read.

Despite district-level efforts such as setting up drinking water kiosks and distributing oral rehydration solution packets, the lack of a formal disaster declaration had previously limited financial support, it said.

The state government observed that heatwaves remained “a largely under-recognised hazard due to challenges in measurement and valuation”.

“Unlike natural calamities such as floods or earthquakes that cause visible damage to infrastructure, the effects of heatwaves are mostly internal, impacting human health and often leading to under-reported mortality, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, children, farmers, and daily wage workers, especially those in the construction sector,” the order stated.

It added that deaths will be eligible for compensation only if they meet the India Meteorological Department’s definition of a heatwave: a temperature of at least 40 degrees Celsius with a deviation of 5 to 6 degrees Celsius from the normal, or a persistent temperature above 45 degrees Celsius.

A severe heatwave is defined by a temperature deviation of 7 degrees Celsius or more.

Families of deceased farmers registered under the Rythu Bima scheme may opt for the higher amount between the Rythu Bima insurance and the State Disaster Response Fund compensation, the order said.

The new norms set out a detailed verification process for establishing heatwave-related deaths.

Diagnosis must be made by a district medical officer or an authorised official, based on environmental temperature, exposure history and exclusion of other causes, it added.

The diagnosis must be certified by a medical officer, a mandal revenue office and a police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector.

Each district collector must maintain original reports, the Aadhaar or ID proof of the deceased, the weather department’s automated station data for the time of death, death certificate copies and beneficiary details for transparency and record-keeping, according to the order.