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EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL SUMMARY
IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) allocated CHF 499,930 for the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) to implement early actions to reduce and mitigate the impact of heatwave in Bangladesh.
The early actions to be conducted were pre-agreed with the National Society and are described in the Early Action Protocol [ Summary document_ Heatwave EAP ] with the triggers for the activation:
a. Pre-Activation:
When ECMWF and/or GFS issue a forecast temperature of at least 38°C (1 in 7-year return period) for 2 consecutive days or more and the heat index is 38 or more for 2 consecutive days, then BDRCS with support from IFRC will activate the pre-activation trigger and start the readiness actions. The expected lead time is 5-7 days.
b. Activation:
When BMD and either ECMWF or GFS issues a forecast of temperature of 38°C (1 in 7-year return period) for 2 consecutive days (or more) and the heat index is 38, then BDRCS with support from IFRC will activate the EAP for a heatwave and implement early actions in the highly exposed areas, prioritizing the Thana/Ward with the highest vulnerability index. The expected lead time will be in the range of 2-3 days.
Based on the analysis of the forecast from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), BDRCS, with the technical support of the IFRC, German Red Cross (GRC), and Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Climate Centre, preactivated its heatwave Early Action Protocol (EAP) on 21 April 2024 for the Dhaka city. At the same time, BDRCS mobilized its volunteers, staff and national surge members to disseminate early warning messages (EWM), distribution of leaflets, safe drinking water, multipurpose cash grants, and setting-up cooling stations in severely affected areas of Dhaka city.
Considering the criteria for activating the heatwave EAP, the trigger threshold reached a peak temperature above 38 degrees and the heat index from 28 to 30 April 2024, although the heatwave started and was pre-activated on 21 April 2024. The forecast also indicated the severely affected areas, which are Shyampur, Bangshal, Kotwali (Dhaka), Sutrapur, Kamrangir Char, Chak Bazar, Lalbagh, Gendaria, and Paltan, and other thanas (Police Stations) of Dhaka district based on their heat island (exposure) and vulnerability. The expected lead time of this EAP activation was seven days.