Parliament Panel Flags Intensifying Heatwaves, Seeks Stronger Action Plan as Climate Change Effects Worsen

A Parliamentary Standing Committee has warned that climate change is causing more intense heatwaves across India and urged the government to strengthen its Heatwave Action Plan to protect vulnerable communities. The panel will also visit Chandigarh and Mumbai in September to assess air and water pollution control efforts and inspect work done by scientific institutions, according to News18.

“Climate change is a global concern, and India among the populous countries needs to be more concerned about that," it stated.

In its report to Parliament, the Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change cautioned the environment ministry that, in view of the recent climatic trends, the coming months of the year 2025-26 are likely to see temperatures soaring to 1-3 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperatures recorded in the past across various cities, especially Delhi where the temperature may be abnormally high during the summer season of 2026.

“The committee is extremely concerned over such alarming reports… If this happens, it will have devastating consequences for human habitats, birds, animals, and the environment," the report stated, urging stronger implementation of a national-level Heat Action Plan (HAP) to mitigate the hotter-than-usual weather.

In line with this, other recent studies also confirm that climate change is making heatwaves more intense and frequent every year, they are now also impacting larger areas than before. In its response, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change informed that Heat Action Plans (HAPs) led by IMD and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have been implemented in 23 states that are prone to high temperatures leading to heat-wave conditions, reported

In its Action Taken Report submitted in Parliament, the committee also noted that though government’s tree plantation campaign—“Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam"—surpassed its 140-crore target for seedlings by March 31, 2025 from its inception in June 5, 20254, it still faces high sapling mortality rates. “There is a need not only to plant the trees but also to ensure that once planted, they are looked after well and continue to survive and grow," it stated as quoted by News18.

The panel also raised concerns over delayed fund utilisation and uneven execution of crucial environmental programmes by the environment ministry as well as erratic funding for the National Coastal Mission and delays in rolling out the revamped “Control of Pollution" scheme.

Extreme heat Requires Planning

According to a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report published in May, critical blind spots at the local level. Heat Risk Index (HRI) data shows that Kolkata and five districts in West Bengal including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Purulia, East Midnapore and Bankura, are classified as high or very high risk for extreme heat, yet none of these regions have an active Heat Action Plan (HAP) in place to safeguard communities.