Wet-bulb temperature (WBT) is the critical metric combining heat and humidity beyond which the human body cannot cool itself through perspiration, making 35°C WBT a physiological survival threshold with severe governance implications for India.
The human body regulates core temperature primarily through evaporative cooling via sweat. When ambient wet-bulb temperature reaches 35°C, evaporation ceases regardless of sweat output, causing core temperature to rise fatally within hours. This threshold is equally lethal for livestock and wildlife, threatening food security and biodiversity.
The Indo-Gangetic Plain and coastal humid zones face the highest WBT risk due to the combination of rising temperatures and high relative humidity. Occupational groups — agricultural labourers, construction workers, and street vendors — face disproportionate exposure, deepening existing socio-economic inequalities.
Flooding, cyclones, and droughts are consequences of broader climate change, not specifically of wet-bulb temperature exceedance. Statement I conflates distinct climate hazards; WBT warnings specifically address heat-humidity lethality, not precipitation or storm patterns.
India's Heat Action Plans, currently implemented in select cities, require scaling to district and panchayat levels. Urban heat island mitigation through cool-roof programmes, shaded public spaces, and revised occupational safety norms for outdoor workers are immediate administrative priorities.
Only Statement II accurately reflects the WBT warning's implication. Addressing this threat demands integrating heat stress metrics into disaster risk frameworks, labour regulations, and urban planning — treating extreme heat as a first-order public health emergency.
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