How Pakistan and Bangladesh are giving Heat Stress to India?

While there is no internationally approved universal climate vulnerability index, this study demonstrated the importance of incorporating multidimensional dimensions of vulnerability while capturing the co-occurrence and linkages of climate disasters with economic and structural development changes principally connected to SDGs. It also emphasises UN SDG-17 (Partnership for Goals), which is missing from its current CVI methodology.

Climate Goals in neighbouring countries

If you talk abpout the neighbouring nations, Bhutan is the only neighbouring country from whom India does not experience climatic stress while discussing the heat stress on India brought on by neighbouring countries' activities. Bhutan intends to incorporate heat risk into an all-hazards risk management system with a focus on enhancing SDG-4 (Quality Education) through a climate-resilient education system;

however, as of right now, there is no data on Bhutan's heat sensitivity. Pakistan has plans to improve risk management for excessive heat in the southern area near India's highest temperature anomaly zones. Yet, it does not have local heat health action plans or risk sensitization. Bangladesh's understanding of heat hotspots and vulnerability mapping within India borderlands is weak.

According to a study that was published in Geophysical Research Letters in March 2021, if global warming increases by 2°C above pre-industrial levels, people in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan will be exposed to potentially fatal heat stress events 774 million times (measured in "person-days") by the year 2050. Yet, human exposures would almost drop to 423 million if governments comply with the Paris Agreement and limit warming to 1.5°C.

The World Bank Group's Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for Pakistan, published in November 2022, found that the country requires major changes in its development path and policies, as well as considerable investments in people-centric climate adaptation and resilience, which will necessitate foreign assistance.

Martin Raiser, the vice president of the World Bank for South Asia, claims that the current flooding and humanitarian crisis serve as a wake-up call for immediate action to stop more damage to Pakistan's people and economy brought on by climate change. According to the stated research, Pakistan is unable to quicken the process of bringing the rising temperature under control. Yet, in Bangladesh, serious measures are lacking as a result of a lack of information.

This indicates that because of its neighbours, India may have negative effects. However, there is a genuine chance for regional collaboration all over the Indian subcontinent.

NDCs failure

Pakistan has set a goal to cut 50% of its harmful emissions by 2030 in its own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) plan, 15% unconditionally and 35% with international assistance. The shift from the fossil fuel energy sector to renewable energy production will cost around 101 billion dollars, which is contingent on the developed and top emitter governments pledging 100 billion dollars in climate money.

According to the Centre for Contemporary Research, Pakistan, the government of Pakistan has not yet formulated a policy for adaptation. These adaptation projects, however, show Pakistan's commitment to increasing its capacity and resilience to minimise the effects of climate change.

Additionally, operational difficulties prevent Pakistan from using climate funding efficiently. The attempt to form Glasgow Financial Alliance - Net-zero (GFANZ) by bringing together banks, asset owners, and insurers to reach net-zero aims will eventually lead to an increase in the circular debt of poor states.

In these conditions, combating climate change might not produce positive outcomes. This indicates that the neighbouring country will continue to emit carbon with a slight decline. The main issue is that India would undoubtedly experience the effects of the climate in that scenario.

Global Attention

A new study by Ramit Debnath at University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom has suggested that lessons can be drawn from global heat readiness leaders such as Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU).

To quantify heat sensitivity and heat adaptation capability indicators at the national, regional, and municipal scales, for instance, the Australian government plans to employ the Integrated Heat Vulnerability Assessment Toolkit. It is based on the highly effective Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI), which is already in use in Bendigo, Dandenong, and Melbourne.

With specific heatwave alert levels, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Met Office recently unveiled their extensive heatwave plan for England. It is created to function as a policy given the UK's current climate vulnerability measurements.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes recommendations for health departments to analyse health vulnerabilities to climate change as part of a federal Climate and Health programme that assists local governments in tracking climate-related health vulnerabilities (along with heat effects). The EU has determined in a strategic manner that ongoing intersectoral cooperation, monitoring, and plan evaluation can increase resistance to the effects of heatwaves.

What Expert's says on it

While talking to Careerindia, Prof. Sachchida Nand Tripathi, Head of Civil Engineering at IIT Kanpur and Member of the NCAP Steering Committee, MoEFCC, said that there have always been local effects of emissions. Any nation that produces large quantities of pollution will affect both its own weather and the environment around it.

Particular pollutants, such as greenhouse gases and even short-lived climate pollutants, can travel and mix well in the air and hence have an impact on the area's climate. Even while it has a worldwide impact, the local repercussions cannot be disregarded.

According to Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist, and consultant for the Global Strategic Communication Council, climate change and global warming are not just the fault of one or two countries.

The Paris Agreement's emission reduction goal for the entire world was not met. There is no single nation responsible for India's climate change, nor is there a single nation responsible for the heatwaves and floods. In reality, the cause of global climate change is some countries' failure to cut their emissions.