Heat Waves – UPSC Sociological Perspective
July 13, 2024
A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India. Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July. The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.
Sociological Analysis
- From an environmental sociology perspective, Robert Bullard, known as the father of environmental justice writes that “what many people often call ‘natural’ disasters are in fact acts of social injustice perpetuated by gov- ernment and business on the poor, people of color, the disabled, the elderly, the homeless, those who are transit dependent, and non-drivers—groups least able to withstand such disasters.”
- It is this interaction between the environment and society that influences whether a disaster will follow.
- Heat waves related deaths have been significantly increasing in India as a result of the global climate crisis. This leads to an alarming situation of loss of social capital in the society.
- India recorded 61 deaths since March 1, 2024 due to heatwaves
- Heatwaves disrupt economic activities, affecting productivity of workers and labourers. According to an ILO study at 34°C, workers can lose up to 50% of their work capacity. This results in a huge loss of the economic capital of the country.
- Gate-cane weddings: Heat wave induced drought has resulted in agricultural laborers becoming sugarcane cutters due to distress as climate adoption strategies. This has resulted in gate cane weddings, where men marry adolescent girls to suffice adequate labour supply in agriculture. These young girls would become wifes and participate in the activities without getting paid.
- Farmer suicide is another contentious problem that arises due to agricultural/crop losses that occurs as a result of extreme heat waves and temperature.
- Heatwaves increase the electricity demand for cooling purposes, leading to strain on power grids and potential blackouts. This results in the condition of energy poverty in the society, in general and it gets exacerbated for the poor.
- Girls becoming scapegoats of quasi egalitarianism: The term quasi-egalitarianism refers to elements of latency in present-day sex differentiation as well as to certain mechanisms for covering sex differentiation. For example, when parents are not in a condition to afford the education of all their children, a bias would get turned towards their son, providing for his education and neglecting their daughters.
- Similarly, economic losses due disasters like heatwaves would result in parents neglecting girl child’s education, thereby affecting their cultural capital.
- The disruption and loss of social, economic capital of individuals due to disasters like heatwaves can cause many psychological issues like mental breakdown, traumatic issues like PTSD etc and hence result in alienation of self.
- From a Subaltern perspective, generally disasters affect the marginalized population in the worst possible way and heatwaves are no exception to it.
- For example, complications like disaster induced displacement , pushing them to extreme or multidimensional poverty etc are few of the negative consequences.
- Urban rural divide can widen as a result of disaster events like heatwaves. With better social infrastructure and quick access to rehabilitation facilities, cities might survive better than rural areas, where these aspects are less or at times, limited.
- For instance lesser technological facilities due to cultural lag in rural areas and rural social groups, especially marginalised communities can seriously worsen the situation.
- Crime and conflict: Social trust, decency, mutual respect etc are those aspects that hold communities together. When hit by disasters like heatwaves, these elements get distorted and as a result acts of deviance like looting, violent victimisations, corruption by officials etc often happen.
- One social group that any disaster can affect very badly is the aged population. They suffer due to reasons like when they experience medical conditions, have physical disabilities, lack social connections etc.
The social impact of heatwaves is something that requires serious deliberation and scrutiny. With global climate crisis and its effects getting reflected on India as well, policy measures like green spaces, sustainable cooling etc must be tabled at the earliest, along with serious awareness creation in order to reduce the dire consequences of it.
