Heat wave mortality, administrative visibility and disaster risk governance in India, 2013–2022

Extreme heat is an increasingly serious public health and disaster risk concern in India, yet the mortality burden remains difficult to establish because heat related deaths are not recognised and recorded consistently. This paper examines officially reported heat and sunstroke deaths across India from 2013 to 2022 and considers their temporal and spatial distribution from a disaster risk governance perspective. The analysis draws on national administrative mortality records, death registration and cause of death reports, meteorological guidance, and official disaster management and public health documents. The series contains 10,635 reported deaths during the study period. Annual totals varied sharply and were highest in 2015. The geographical distribution was also concentrated: Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab, Bihar and Maharashtra together accounted for 72.36 per cent of the recorded total. These figures are not an estimate of the full heat attributable mortality burden. They record deaths for which heat or sunstroke was formally recognised within an administrative system. High counts may reflect severe exposure and vulnerability, stronger recognition and reporting, or both; low and zero counts cannot be treated automatically as evidence of low risk. The paper argues for regionally differentiated preparedness, stronger mortality surveillance, better cause of death certification, and closer coordination between meteorological warning and public health response.