Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court recently sought response from Union in a PIL seeking efficient implementation of the National Guidelines for Heat Wave Management 2019 issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in tackling the issue of heat waves across the country.

The bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih was hearing a Public Interest Litigation seeking a slew of measures to curb the drastically increasing heat wave across the country.

While using notice, the bench sought a response within 2 weeks from the Home Ministry, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and the National Disaster Management Authority.

The petitioner is seeking (1) effective implementation of National Guidelines for Heat Wave Management 2019 issued by NDMA after it had declared heatwaves as a disaster; (2) establishing forecasting systems, issuing heat alerts, 24/7 helplines; (3) ensuring compensation to victims of heat waves and minimum wages for daily wage labourers/ farmer/ during the onset of the waves;

(4)measures to make more green patches, promoting blue-green infrastructure ; (5)Direct the Environment Ministry to act under Section 3 and 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for heat wave prevention and control; (6) Set up distinct temperature monitoring units in open vs. dense areas to better track heat variations

(7) IMD should introduce humidity, nighttime temperatures, and adopt Wet Bulb Globe Temperature in place of relying only on temperature readings; (8) forming Environment/Climate Change departments in urban and rural local bodies and development authorities; (9) Ubran Planning reforms; (10) setting up Climate Change & Heat Crisis Monitoring Committee, chaired by a former Supreme Court judge, with multi-level oversight functions.

The petition, filed by Environmentalist Vikrant Tongad states that " the deaths caused due to Heat waves/heat stress far outnumber the deaths caused by any other hazard. In the year 2024 alone, more than 700 deaths have been reported."

The plea also stresses how the increasing heat waves are contributing to drought-like situations in the country. It explained :

"The constantly rising levels of temperature are creating drought-like situations almost every year. Surprisingly, unusually-high temperatures are being recorded even in the peak winter season and heat waves are being experienced as early as in the cold months of January-February. The prevailing Heat waves/heat stress, as a fall-out of Climate Change, may push the nation into famine and hunger, as it would drastically reduce the agricultural production."

Notably, in an earlier case relating to illegal cutting of trees in Delhi's Ridge, bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice Bhuyan verbally remarked how lack of green cover is leading to excessive heat waves in the national capital. The court said "Now we are feeling the heat wave in the true sense because the green cover has been lost over the years". The court also directed the Delhi Government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to take effective steps in enhancing the green cover of the National Capital amidst the extreme heat wave that the public is suffering from.

The following reliefs have been sought:

(i) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, for strictly implementing the 'National Guidelines for Preparation of Action Plan 2019 – Prevention and Management of Heat Wave', issued by the NDMA in its entirety, after declaring Heat wave/heat stress as a disaster;

(ii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, inter alia, providing facilities for forecast, issuance of heat alert/early warning systems, 24X7 redressal Helplines, identification of colour signals for heat alert, prevention of heat-related illness, upgrade hospital preparedness for treating heat-related illness, maintain proper data related to heat management, undertake adequate prevention, preparedness and mitigation measures (in terms of Paras 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2 of the aforementioned Guidelines);

(iii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, for providing compensation to victims (death victims or otherwise) of heat-related illness; provide minimum wages or other social and financial security to the vulnerable classes, esp., labourers, farmers, vegetable hawkers etc., during the extreme heat periods and maintain proper records of the heat-related deaths;

(iv) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, to replace paved/concretized surfaces (open areas, roadsides, roadberms, central verges etc.) with grassed/vegetated landscapes so as to mitigate Urban Heat Island effect, create Blue-green infrastructure on large-scale in cities, protect open areas, including agricultural farmlands, conduct massive greening exercises round-the-year, issue Guidelines/directions to the states/UTs to amend/modify Master Plan/Lay-out Plan/By-laws provisions to strictly keep 33% of total area as green and enforce the same; raise massive Green Walls (to serve as hot-wind breakers) at the periphery of each city/town/district;

(v) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change to take urgent measures under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and issue directions under Section 5 of the said Act to prevent, mitigate and control Heat waves/heat stress in the short, medium and long term and monitor the same;

(vi) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, to set up distinct and separate Temperature Recording/Monitoring Stations for open and dense settlement areas (with high density of population), so as to record variation in the temperatures and, thereby, serve as a guiding tool for future patterns of development/interventions;

(vii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, IMD, to revise its criteria of declaring Heat waves based on temperature thresholds alone and incorporate humidity and nighttime thresholds and use Wet Bulb Globe Temperature/Heat Index to determine the heat stress;

(viii) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, to set up dedicated Environment/Climate Change department in all Local bodies (Urban as well as rural), Development Authorities, to address the issues pertaining to environment and climate change;

(ix) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction to the Respondents, to take steps towards urgently bringing in Urban Planning changes so as to make the cities/towns sustainable and climate-resilient in all forms;

(x) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, Order or direction, constituting a Monitoring Committee for Climate Change and Heat-Related Crisis, to be headed by a Former Judge of this Hon'ble Court, with a multi-tier structural and functional framework to monitor all activities, ancillary and incidental to Climate Change and Heat-Related Crisis;

(xi) Pass any other or further Order(s) or direction(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the present case.

Advocate Akash Vashishtha appeared for the petitioner.

Case details : VIKRANT TONGAD PETITIONER(S) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS. | WRIT PETITION(S)(CIVIL) NO(S). 523/2025