Odisha may witness 42,000 more deaths annually by 2100 due to extreme heat: Study
Bhubaneswar: Odisha may witness 42,334 more deaths every year due to extreme heat by 2100, a new study study has said. It will be almost five times more than the total deaths the state records due to cardiac arrest every year. The spike in average summer temperature and number of extremely hot days has an impact on mortality, the study revealed.
The number of extremely hot days in Odisha has been projected to increase by 30 times from 1.62 in 2010 to 48.05 by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow at current rates till the end of the century, the report said.
The study is the first in a series of findings estimating the human and economic costs of climate change and weather shocks in India, conducted by the Climate Impact Lab in collaboration with the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago.
Punjab is likely to continue to be the country's hottest state in 2100 with average annual temperature around 36 degree Celsius. "Odisha is projected to see 42,334 excess climate- related deaths due to increase in temperature," it said.
India, as a whole, will see the number of extremely hot days per year increasing by more than eight times from 5.1 in 2010 to 42.8 by 2100, the study released here on Monday said.
The presentation of the report was followed by a panel discussion on the impact of climate change in Odisha.
Odisha's average summer temperature may witness a 3.32 degree Celsius rise from 28.87 degree Celsius in 2010 to 32.19 degree Celsius by 2100.
It will be far higher than the national average increase from about 24 degree Celsius to about 28 degree Celsius by the end of the century, the report said.
Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is close behind, which is likely to see a temperature rise of 3.07C, it said.
"Odisha has a history of experiencing extreme heat related fatalities. In 1998, as many as 2,042 people had died due to excessive heat wave," Pradeep Kumar Nayak, chief general manager, Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, said.
Though extensive awareness campaigns have largely reduced the number of casualties during post 1998 period, still a number of casualties are being reported each year, he said.
Between 2010 and 2018, over 6,100 people have died in the country due to heat wave, with Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telanganaand West Bengal together reporting more than 90 per cent of the total deaths, the study said.
Michael Greenstone, faculty director at the Tata Centre for Development at UChicago and a co-founder of the Climate Impact Lab said, "Reliance on fossil fuels globally will greatly harm the well-being of people in the coming years and decades.
"Managing climate and air pollution risks is perhaps the challenges of our generation."
The impact of carbon emissions is going to be more pronounced on societies across the globe, including India, which has already seen 2,500 deaths due to a heat wave in 2015, said Amir Jina, assistant professor at the Harris Public Policy and researcher at the Climate Impact Lab.
"The future will be more worrying if a course correction is not embarked upon at the earliest and investments are not made towards mitigating the harmful effects of climate change," Jina said.
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Kangana Ranaut sparks row: Claims Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem
New Delhi: A significant political controversy has erupted following the Modi government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a move that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. The row was further fueled by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who, while defending the name change, erroneously claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had made the devotional song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" India’s national anthem.
The central government has rebranded the flagship rural employment scheme from MGNREGA to the "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission," abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme has been termed an insult to the Father of the Nation by the Congress and other opposition parties.
When questioned by the media outside Parliament regarding the opposition's allegations, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut defended the government's decision by invoking Mahatma Gandhi's devotion to Lord Ram.
"How is naming it 'Ram Ji' an insult to Gandhi ji?" Ranaut asked. "Mahatma Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem to organize the entire country. Therefore, this is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi? The government is fulfilling his dream by giving it the name of Ram."
Ranaut's claim regarding the national anthem was immediately seized upon by the opposition. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the video of Ranaut’s statement on social media, tweeting sarcastically, "Come on brother, today we learned a new national anthem! The BJP is full of such gems."
Social media users also trolled the MP for the factual error. One user quipped, "Kangana ji forgot to mention that Bapu made this the national anthem after the country got independence in 2014," while another commented that the party finds people who "don't use their brains while forwarding WhatsApp messages."
Beyond the social media mockery, senior Congress leaders criticised the renaming on ideological grounds. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the move.
"The biggest irony is that Mahatma Gandhi was a lifelong devotee of Lord Ram and said 'Hey Ram' in his last moments," Gehlot wrote. "Today, the central government is making a despicable attempt to sideline Gandhi ji under the guise of the same 'Ram' name (VB-G RAM G), which is highly condemnable."
मनरेगा का नाम बदलने की केंद्र सरकार की कवायद महात्मा गांधी के प्रति उनकी ओछी मानसिकता और असम्मान का प्रमाण है। सरकार पहले 'पूज्य बापू' के नाम का शिगूफा छोड़ती है और फजीहत होने पर अब 'विकसित भारत-गारंटी फॉर रोजगार एंड आजीविका मिशन (VB-G RAM G)' जैसा नाम थोपना चाहती है। बार-बार नाम…
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) December 15, 2025
गांधी जी ने ‘रघुपति राघव राजा राम’ को लेकर नेशनल एंथम बनाया था
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) December 16, 2025
BJP MP कंगना रनौत
चलो भाई आज नया नेशनल एंथम भी पता चला है!
BJP में एक से एक शिरोमणि भरे पड़े हैं 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/9DvyV5xLb1
