Department of Health issues advisory to states amid ongoing heat wave
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan issued an advisory to the Chief Secretary of States on Sunday amid rising temperatures and heat wave in parts of the country.
He informed that daily heat alerts which are shared by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) as well as National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) with the states indicate heat wave forecast for the next 3-4 days and can be disseminated quickly to the district. /health facility level.
Bhushan called on states to disseminate guidelines on the “National Heat Illness Action Plan” at the district level.
“States should educate all healthcare personnel on early recognition and management of heat-related illnesses,” he wrote.
He asked to ensure the availability of a sufficient quantity of drinking water in all health facilities and the continuous operation of cooling devices in critical areas.
Health facilities should prepare and review the availability of intravenous fluids, ice packs, ORS and all necessary items, the health secretary said.
Bhushan stressed the need for healthcare institutions to increase resistance to extreme heat by arranging uninterrupted electricity for the constant operation of cooling devices and measures to reduce indoor heat.
However, India’s meteorological department has predicted thunderstorms and dust storms from Monday in hopes of bringing some respite to people from the heat wave.
Western disturbances are close to Pakistan-Afghanistan and heading towards Delhi and thunderstorms or dust storms are likely to occur in northwest India, senior scientist RK Jenamani told ANI. ‘IMD.
“We are issuing a thunderstorm and dust storm warning for the whole of North West India covering Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh. The cloudy weather or the dust winds will continue until May 5. From May 1 to May 5, the temperature will be normal. There will be no heat wave,” he said.
However, the monsoon will start on May 15 according to the latest forecast from the meteorological bureau.
(Only the title and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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