Syllabus
GS Paper 2 – Social Justice – Health
GS Paper 3 – Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Disaster and disaster management
Context
Women are disproportionately harmed by extreme heat, largely because of unequal power dynamics, gender norms, and unequal access to resources.
Source
The Hindu| Editorial dated 16th July 2024
The toll that extreme heat takes on women
Extreme heat has become a persistent norm for our planet, with 2023 recorded as the warmest year ever. In India, the temperatures during May-June 2024 reached unprecedented levels, severely impacting the population, especially women.
Due to existing gender inequalities and norms, women are disproportionately affected by extreme heat, which exacerbates their already challenging living and working conditions.
Rising Heat in India
- Increasing intensity and frequency of heatwaves : India experiences regular heatwaves during spring and summer.
- However, recent years have seen a rise in extreme temperatures, with heatwaves starting earlier, lasting longer, and affecting a larger area
- Climate change: Scientists agree that climate change is a major driver of rising temperatures in India.
- Human activity has increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the planet to warm. This warming effect makes heatwaves more likely and severe.
- Impact on people and society: The scorching heat poses health risks, particularly for vulnerable populations like outdoor workers, children, and the elderly.
- Heatwaves can also disrupt agriculture, water resources, and livelihoods
Women and Heat Impact
The Global Gender Gap Index ranks India 18th from the bottom, highlighting the gender disparities.
- ADB Report Findings: The ADB report “Rising Above the Heat” highlights the unequal impact of extreme heat on women in Asia and the Pacific.
- Living Conditions: Women in informal settlements face extreme heat in homes made of heat-trapping materials like tin, asbestos, and plastic.
- Kitchen Heat: Women experience scorching temperatures in poorly ventilated kitchens while cooking.
- Time Poverty and Care Burden: Rising temperatures worsen women’s time poverty and care burden.
- Productivity Loss:
- Heat stress leads to lower productivity, causing women to work longer hours to complete unpaid work.
- According to Arsht-Rock’s “Scorching Divide” report, heatwaves result in an additional 90 minutes of care work per day for women in India.
- Women spend two and a half times more minutes per day than men on unpaid work (National Statistical Office 2019 data).
- Over two-thirds of women’s productivity loss from heat stress occurs in unpaid labour, leading to missed opportunities for earning income, acquiring skills, or resting.
Differential Impact in Urban – Rural areas
- Urban Female Informal Labourers:
- Urban female informal labourers face extreme heat in marketplaces, streets, construction sites, landfills, or employers’ homes.
- These workers, including street vendors, paid domestic helpers, construction workers, and sanitation workers, are vulnerable to climatic extremes (ILO report “Work in a Changing Climate”).
- Energy poverty exacerbates their situation, with limited access to cooling facilities.
- Greenery and natural cooling sources are scarce in dense urban areas.
- Water scarcity and power fluctuations make staying hydrated and comfortable challenging.
- Rural Areas:
- Rural women also face severe heat-related challenges.
- Many cook using biomass, leading to health hazards, as 56.8% of rural families cook on biomass (NFHS-5).
- Working indoors under heat-trapping roofs or outdoors in fields like MGNREGA exposes them to unbearable temperatures.
- Restrictive gender norms on mobility and clothing further limit their ability to cope with heat.
- Heatwaves negatively impact crop yields, affecting food security for poor rural women.
Unequal Health Strain
- Heat-Related Diseases:
- Heat stress leads to various illnesses, including heat cramps, severe heat stroke, and hyperthermia.
- Women’s physiological makeup, including body fat percentage, water content levels, and hormonal changes, affects heat tolerance and hydration.
- Women bear a dual burden from heat-related health issues due to their susceptibility and caregiving responsibilities.
- Heat stress significantly impacts maternal and child health, increasing risks of preterm delivery, miscarriage, and stillbirths.
- India’s higher maternal mortality rates make these health impacts particularly concerning.
Way Forward
- Climate-Friendly Urban Planning
- Green Infrastructure: Increase urban greenery by planting trees and creating green spaces to provide natural cooling.
- Heat-Resilient Housing: Implement building codes and standards that promote the use of heat-reflective and insulating materials in construction.
- Cooling Centers: Establish community cooling centers in urban areas, especially in informal settlements, to provide relief during extreme heatwaves.
- Sustainable Cooling Technologies
- Affordable Cooling Solutions: Promote the development and distribution of low-cost, energy-efficient cooling technologies such as fans, coolers, and affordable air conditioning units.
- Solar-Powered Cooling: Invest in solar-powered cooling systems to reduce dependency on the electric grid and provide sustainable cooling options.
- Ventilation Improvements: Enhance natural ventilation in homes, particularly in kitchens, to reduce heat buildup during cooking.
- Fair Division of Care Work
- Shared Responsibilities: Encourage equitable distribution of unpaid care work between men and women through community awareness programs and policy interventions.
- Supportive Infrastructure: Develop infrastructure such as community kitchens and daycare centers to reduce the burden of care work on women.
- Time-Use Policies: Implement policies that support flexible working hours and work-from-home options to allow better time management for women.
- Public Provisioning of Essential Services
- Water and Sanitation: Ensure reliable access to clean water and sanitation facilities to help women manage heat stress and maintain hygiene.
- Healthcare Access: Improve access to healthcare services, particularly for heat-related illnesses, and provide targeted support for maternal and child health.
- Energy Access: Expand access to reliable electricity to enable the use of cooling devices and other essential appliances.
- Empowering Women
- Education and Training: Provide education and skill development programs to empower women to seek employment opportunities beyond traditional roles.
- Economic Opportunities: Create economic opportunities for women, particularly in climate-resilient sectors, to reduce their dependence on vulnerable informal labor.
- Social Support Networks: Strengthen social support networks and provide resources for women to cope with the impacts of extreme heat.
- Policy and Advocacy
- Gender-Inclusive Climate Policies: Develop and implement climate policies that explicitly address the gendered impacts of extreme heat and prioritize women’s needs.
- Community Engagement: Involve women in community planning and decision-making processes to ensure their voices and concerns are heard.
- Monitoring and Research: Conduct regular monitoring and research to assess the impacts of extreme heat on women and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
Conclusion
As India faces escalating temperatures, the burden on women becomes increasingly severe. The unequal impact of heat stress on women necessitates immediate action to strengthen their resilience. Addressing the social power gradient that influences women’s ability to cope with extreme heat is crucial for effective adaptation and resilience-building. Without such measures, millions of women in India will continue to suffer the harsh consequences of rising temperatures.
Related PYQ
Bring out the causes for the formation of heat islands in the urban habitat of the world. [ UPSC Civil Services Exam – Mains 2013]
Practice Question
Discuss the disproportionate impact of extreme heat on women in India and suggest measures to mitigate this challenge.? [250 words]