Heatwaves and Lightning Added to Notified Natural Calamities List

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The Central Government added heatwaves and lightning to the official list of notified natural calamities under SDRF and NDRF operational rules for 2026-31.
This decision follows recommendations from the 16th Finance Commission, which pointed out how climate change is making severe weather events more frequent and damaging.
State governments can now directly use SDRF money to provide immediate financial relief to individuals affected by extreme heat or lightning strikes.
If state funds run low, assistance from the NDRF will support state efforts, while heatwave protection projects can receive grant support from Disaster Mitigation Funds.
This addition expands the total number of notified natural disaster types from 12 to 14, joining existing hazards like floods, cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, and landslides.
This policy adjustment strengthens India's disaster risk financing framework by updating emergency relief rules to handle climate risks better.

A heatwave is a prolonged period of unusually hot weather that stays well above typical regional temperatures, mainly affecting India from March to June with peak intensity in May.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) officially classifies and announces heatwaves based on specific temperature safety levels set for different geographical zones.

Lightning is a rapid atmospheric electric discharge that occurs when opposite electrical charges separate and accumulate in large quantities.
These powerful electric sparks can form inside a single cloud, between two different clouds, into surrounding air, or hit the ground directly.
Although most common during intense thunderstorms, lightning can also occur within volcanic ash plumes, large wildfires, and heavy snowstorms.
Because electric currents take the easiest path to the ground, lightning usually strikes the tallest nearby structures with the highest electric potential.
To protect properties from structural damage, builders install a copper lightning rod on roofs to catch electric strikes safely.
The pointed end of the rod creates a strong electric field that guides the electrical surge harmlessly into the soil through a grounding wire.