India court urges national emergency declaration for heatwaves

JAIPUR

An Indian court has urged the government to declare a national emergency over the country's ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people had died during weeks of extreme weather.

India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities sizzling well above 45 degrees Celsius.

The High Court in the western state of Rajasthan, which has suffered through some of the hottest weather in recent days, said authorities had failed to take appropriate steps to protect the public from the heat.

"Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of [the] heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month," the court said.

"We do not have a planet B which we can move onto... If we do not take strict action now, we will lose the chance of seeing out future generations flourish forever."

The court directed the state government to set up compensation funds for relatives of any person who dies as a result of heat ailments.

Ruling on the current heatwave and such events in the future, it also said India should begin declaring them "national calamities."

This would allow the mobilization of emergency relief in a similar manner to floods, cyclones and natural disasters.

India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures but years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.