Do Heatwaves Raise Building Fire Risk in India? What the Data Shows

In late May 2024, as north and central India baked in one of its worst heatwaves, building fires seemed to be everywhere. Experts said the heat was a big part of the reason. Is that true, and what does the data actually show? Here is what we know, what we don’t, and what you can check at home before the next summer.

What happened in May 2024

According to Delhi Fire Services figures reported in May 2024, the fire helpline in the capital was getting more than 220 calls a day. That kind of volume is normally seen only around Diwali.

On 29 May 2024, a weather station at Mungeshpur in Delhi reported 52.9°C. The India Meteorological Department later said that station’s sensor was reading about 3°C too high (Akashvani, 1 June 2024). Even so, the city was in the middle of a severe heatwave.

The same weeks saw two terrible fires:

• The Rajkot game zone fire in Gujarat. A huge blaze at a gaming arena killed many people. The place was found to be breaking building and safety rules.
• The Delhi newborn hospital fire. A fire at a hospital for newborn babies killed several infants. This hospital, too, was found to be breaking safety rules.

Heat or no heat, both buildings had ignored basic safety. That is the part we can fix.

How heat can start a fire

R. Srinivas, a former Secretary of the Delhi chapter of the Institute of Town Planners, India, who worked with the Town and Country Planning Organisation for 12 years until 2022, told Down To Earth (30 May 2024) that the record heat was the main reason for the fires. In his view, the heat makes AC compressors overheat and overload, and he pointed to many compressor fires in the days before. Delhi’s power demand had crossed 8,300 megawatts, the highest in the region’s history, which puts a heavy load on transformers.

The common ways it goes wrong:

• ACs running hot. An outdoor unit sitting in direct sun all day can overheat inside and out, and its parts can catch fire.
• Overloaded power lines. Transformers and wires carrying more load than they should can spark and burn during a heatwave.
• Hot, crowded neighbourhoods. Dense areas packed with AC units and with little greenery stay hotter than the rest of the city. This is called the urban heat island effect, and it adds to the risk.

What the fire data shows

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) counts fire accidents every year. In 2022, India recorded 7,566 fire accidents in which 7,435 people died. More than half of these deaths were in residential buildings.

State figures for 2022 (NCRB, as reported by Down To Earth):

State	Deaths in fire accidents, 2022
Odisha	1,219 (the highest)
Madhya Pradesh	839
Maharashtra	778
Gujarat	328
Delhi	77, in 69 fire accidents

One thing to be clear about. NCRB does not record heat as a cause of fire, so these numbers cannot prove that heatwaves cause more fires. The link comes from experts and from what fire services see on the ground. It is believable, but the data does not settle it.

What can be done

Srinivas’s main suggestions to Down To Earth were to shade outdoor AC units, restore water bodies and tree cover, and start tree-planting drives led by residents’ welfare associations. The other steps below are our own:

• Enforce building rules. Emergency exits, fire-resistant materials and proper escape routes should not be optional. Rajkot and the Delhi hospital show what happens when they are.
• Strengthen the power network. Grids and transformers that can carry the summer load are less likely to fail and catch fire.
• Bring back green cover. Trees and water bodies cool a neighbourhood. Cities should protect them as they grow.
• Get the society involved. RWAs can run tree-planting drives and fire safety awareness sessions before every summer.

Before the next heatwave

Get your ACs serviced and ask an electrician to check the wiring and the MCB rating. Each AC should have its own correctly rated socket, never an extension board. Shade the outdoor unit if you can and clear leaves, plastic and cartons from around it. After the AC has run for an hour, touch the plug and socket. If it is hot, switch off and call an electrician. And save 101 and 112 in your phone.