A day after the first orange alert of the city was issued by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the authority held a meeting with various stakeholders to decide on further action with regard to Heat Action Plan on Friday. They have decided to change school timings and work hours of construction labourers. They will also be providing water and ORS packets to commuters and workers.
For mass awareness, the Integrated Traffic Management System screens and LEDs will display a RED screen in case of a red alert.
For those who work during the day, the civic body has arranged for water and ORS packets. "We are going to distribute ORS packets to traffic booths and to the BRTS stops. We have made a special arrangement for slums; cool water will be distributed to them and ORS packets will also be sent," said Dr Bhavin Solanki, in-charge medical officer of health, AMC.
"The weather has become very harsh. High temperatures have set in early this year. We, therefore, held a meeting and decided to change school timings and work hours of construction labourers so that prolonged exposure to heat can be avoided. Through this measure, any heat-related illness can be avoided to an extent," the doctor said.
"Another thing we will be implementing this year is, our estate department will fetch a list of workers at construction sites and we will provide them with drinking water. The garden department will make arrangements for more greenery on the streets. Fountains will be made functional for the summer months," the doctor added.
The civic body also felt that although they are receiving information from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) five days in advance, the data is not as accurate as it used to be when provided by the Georgia Tech University.
"When the university provided data, it used to be accurate. The IMD's forecast keeps varying. The day when there were yellow alerts and 42 degree was expected, the temperature was recorded at 43.7 degree Celsius," said a senior AMC officer.
HEATWAVE CRITERIA
- When the normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40 degree Celsius, heat wave departure from normal is 5 to 6 degree Celsius. Sever heat wave departure from normal is 7 degree Celsius or more
- When the normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40 degree Celsius, heat wave departure is more than 4 to 5 degree Celsius and severe heat wave departure from normal is 6 degree Celsius or more
- When actual minimum temperature remains 45 degree Celsius or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, heat wave is declared
