On a hot afternoon last year, a ragpicker in Delhi’s Ghazipur area collapsed from heat exhaustion. “The family rushed him to the hospital,” said Majida Begum, a sanitation worker who saw it happen. “But he was declared dead on arrival. They had no proof that he died due to heat, so they were not given any compensation.” His death was never officially counted. Sadly, his story is not unique. Many heat-related deaths in India go unreported, unrecognised, and without any help to families.

An investigation by PTI shows that India’s systems for reporting heat-related deaths are old, disorganised, and do not match each other. Because of this, the true number of deaths from heat is not clear. This makes it hard for people to know how serious the problem is and for the government to make good plans to save lives.

Different reports show very different numbers

There are at least three different government departments that keep track of deaths from heatstroke or heatwaves in India. The two main ones often mentioned in the news are the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the health ministry and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the home ministry. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) also reports some numbers based on media reports.

However, the numbers from these three groups are very different. For example, from 2015 to 2022:

  • The NCDC recorded 3,812 heat-related deaths.
  • The NCRB reported 8,171 deaths from “heat/sunstroke”.
  • The IMD recorded 3,436 deaths due to “heatwave”.

These big differences show how unclear the real situation is. Also, the NCRB has not yet released data for 2023 and 2024.

The health ministry started collecting heat illness and death data from April to July in 2015, and from 2019 this was extended from March to July, covering 23 states. The NCRB has been recording heatstroke deaths since 1995, listing them as “accidental deaths from forces of nature” from around 2010.

One reason for the difference is the way data is collected. A senior Delhi Police official explained that NCRB data mainly counts people found dead in public places or homes by police. After these people are taken to hospitals for autopsy, doctors check the cause of death.

The NCRB reported 730 heat deaths in 2022, but the NCDC only showed 33 deaths for the same year. In 2021, NCRB said 374 died, while NCDC reported none. Many states, like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and others, failed to send their data to the NCDC during this time.

A health ministry official said the two datasets “are not directly comparable” because they come from different places. “The NCDC reports deaths of patients who come to hospital OPDs or are admitted. But if a person dies and is brought for autopsy, that data goes to the forensic medicine department, which may not always share the information with the NCDC,” the official explained.

He also said, “None of those alone gives the full picture.” Confirming heat deaths is difficult even with guidelines from the health ministry.

Challenges in data collection and reporting

One big problem is the lack of electronic record systems. “Healthcare facilities still enter data manually. Confirming heat-related deaths is already difficult, and manual data entry makes accurate reporting even harder,” said another official.

Though the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) allows digital submission of data, hospital staff have to type the information themselves. There is no automatic data transfer from hospital records.

Officials said that states are required to report data, but many do not do so properly. Sometimes hospital staff do not report heat deaths if the weather is cooler or cloudy.

A senior doctor from a central government hospital in Delhi, speaking anonymously, said most hospitals do not have enough staff to collect and send data correctly and quickly. The doctor also claimed that authorities might hide death numbers to avoid paying compensation.

At the India Heat Summit 2025, health ministry advisor Soumya Swaminathan pointed out problems with the death reporting system. “Death-reporting systems need strengthening because they provide the best source for the government and policymakers to understand causes of death, which should inform policy,” she said.

Experts call for better data and action

Abhiyant Tiwari, Lead for Climate Resilience and Health at NRDC India, said that it is a worldwide problem to link deaths directly to heat. He explained that all-cause mortality data — counting all deaths during heat events — is more reliable to understand who is at risk. This is because many heat deaths are wrongly recorded as heart attacks or other causes.

He said, “By comparing mortality during heatwaves to normal periods, experts estimate that the excess deaths are likely attributable to extreme heat.” He also said India needs better reporting of this data and suggested that one department should be responsible for collecting and sharing it.

Avinash Chanchal, deputy programme director at Greenpeace South Asia, said urgent reforms are needed. “Discrepancies between departments and widespread underreporting mean the true toll of extreme heat often remains hidden. The government must understand that hiding or ignoring the true numbers delays the urgent action needed to address heat,” he said.

Until India improves its data system, many heat deaths will remain invisible — just a number or not counted at all. The poor and undocumented people, like the ragpicker who died in Delhi, continue to suffer in silence while the real crisis remains hidden.

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