Opinion

Do we really need summer to vote?



As the heat of the campaigning for the seven-phase general elections, beginning April 19, intensifies, so is the temperature in most parts of India. To meet high power demand, GoI has directed all gas-based power plants to operate in May and June and has issued an advisory to all states and UTs to implement measures to protect workers in factories, mines, construction sites and brick kilns. EC and NDMA have also released advisories on tackling heat.

These steps have come on the back of several warnings. Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization‘s report stated that 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, and 2024 could be worse. The Indian Meteorological Department, too, forecasts higher-than-average temperatures and almost double the number of heatwave days – 10-20 days, against the four-eight days every summer.

Yet when one hears the ongoing poll discourse, rising heat, which can have deep health and socioeconomic impact on voters, is hardly on any party’s agenda. No political party has released guidelines for their foot soldiers or those who will attend rallies, even though extreme heat events can lead to illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, hyperthermia, and even death. In April 2023, 11 people died at an open-air rally in Navi Mumbai. Instead of waiting for such mishap(s) to happen, political parties must release heat SOPs, avoid public gatherings during afternoons, and use this time to engage with voters on heat mitigation and adaptation strategies. Voters must demand that heatwaves be notified of a national disaster to ensure adequate funding for response, relief and rehabilitation efforts. With climate change’s impacts becoming more visible, extreme weather events must become an issue in elections, both for choosing poll timing and tenure, and a step for devising a multi-sectoral heat management plan.



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