A woman shields herself and her son from the harsh afternoon sun, while walking on the Raj Bhavan Road in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: File Photo

As Telangana reels under a punishing summer, the heat is doing more than just scorching the earth — it is straining bodies, infrastructure and the economy to a breaking point. Sunstroke may be the most immediate and visible danger, but a deeper and more alarming crisis is quietly unfolding across the State.

The Telangana Heatwave Action Plan 2025, unveiled by Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar, warns of rising cases of heat-related illnesses, worsening of chronic diseases and an overwhelming burden on emergency services. As the mercury shows no signs of mercy, the State is racing to shield its people from a growing, and increasingly deadly, threat.

In 2024 alone, Telangana reported 10 deaths linked to heatwave conditions, but the toll of extreme heat stretches far beyond fatalities. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures is accelerating cases of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke, pushing hospitals and healthcare systems to their limits. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly, infants, pregnant women and individuals with pre-existing health conditions, are at highest risk, the report suggests.

The State’s healthcare infrastructure is stretched thin, with a sharp rise in emergency admissions and an urgent demand for critical supplies such as ORS packets, IV fluids and essential medicines. To address the mounting crisis, the Health, Medical, and Family Welfare Department has issued directives to improve early detection and treatment, with a special focus on training medical staff in semi-urban and rural health centres where access to care remains limited.

“Dedicated beds for heatstroke patients are being set aside, and mobile health units are being deployed in vulnerable areas. Outreach clinics are also being activated to target high-risk mandals, ensuring that even remote communities receive timely medical support,” the report states.

Vulnerability across State

According to the ‘State’s vulnerability analysis’ mentioned in the report, six mandals are categorised as severely affected, with another 106 mandals in critical conditions. Among the districts at the highest risk are Adilabad, Nirmal, Jagtial, Kumaram Bheem Asifabad and Warangal. From 2014 to 2023, these areas experienced between 21 and 40 days of heatwaves per year.

Further, over 31,000 Anganwadi centres, including 4,000 mini centres, are directly affected by heat, leading to a disruption in essential nutrition services. For vulnerable communities, especially in rural areas, the absence of cooked meals, infant care, and hydration support is a significant health risk. The exposure of women working in outdoor kitchens, often in the direct heat, exacerbates their vulnerability, increasing the likelihood of heat-related illnesses, the report notes.

Economic and social fallout

The economic repercussions of heatwaves extend far beyond health concerns. Heatwaves have a direct impact on agriculture, outdoor labour, and the broader economy. With temperatures soaring, the number of hours outdoor workers can safely work diminishes, leading to reduced productivity and economic output.

In rural Telangana, heatwaves increase the likelihood of school dropouts as children are forced to work in the fields or help at home during the summer. With less access to cooling and fewer educational opportunities, the cycle of poverty deepens, further marginalising communities that are already vulnerable.

The team used tiny sensors implanted on the participant’s brain to read the intent to move, allowing them to track and analyse brain activity despite the participant being unable to physically move.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have achieved a significant breakthrough in assistive technology for individuals with paralysis. The lead author of a scientific paper on the project, an Indian who grew up in Chennai, Nikhilesh Natraj, says they have developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) that allows a paralysed man to control a robotic arm simply by imagining the movements he wishes to execute.

Dr. Natraj is a neuroscientist and neural engineer at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, UCSF. “Here, our team has developed a framework that allows a paralysed man to control a robotic arm for 7 months straight using just his thoughts alone, with minimal calibration,” he says. The results of this study were published in a recent volume of the peer-reviewed journal Cell.

Dr. Natraj and his team developed a framework that enabled a paralysed individual to control a robotic arm using only his thoughts for 7 months, with minimal calibration, showcasing the potential of BCIs for long-term, stable use.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Developing stability in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs)

To start with, the team had to understand the neural patterns behind movement. The key was discovering how activity shifts in the brain day to day as a study participant repeatedly imagined making specific movements. Once a machine learning/AI algorithm was programmed to account for those shifts, it worked for months at a time.

Karunesh Ganguly, professor of neurology and a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences who studied how patterns of brain activity in animals represent specific movements, saw that these patterns changed day-to-day. If one assumed that the same thing was happening in humans, these changes would explain why the participants’ BCIs became unstable and quickly lost the ability to recognise movement patterns. The team worked with an individual who had been paralysed by a stroke and could not speak or move, a note on the varsity website stated.

The study participant had tiny sensors implanted on the surface of his brain that could pick up brain activity when he imagined moving. The sensors do not send pulses to the brain, but only read out the intent to move from the movement regions of the brain, Dr. Natraj explains.

AI and signal processing

To see whether and how his brain patterns changed over time, the participant was asked to imagine moving different parts of his body. Although he couldn’t actually move, the participant’s brain could still produce the signals for a movement when he imagined himself doing it. The BCI recorded the brain’s representations of these movements through the sensors.

Analysing the patterns in the high-dimensional sensor data, the team found that while the structure of movement representations stayed the same, their locations in the high-dimensional data shifted slightly from day to day. By tracking these shifts and predicting how it would evolve, the team was able to overcome instability in BCI systems and developed an end-to-end signal processing and AI framework.

From imagined movements to real-world actions

The participant was then tasked with imagining himself making simple movements with his fingers, hands or thumbs while the sensors recorded his brain activity to train the AI. The read out signals were then decoded to actuate a robotic arm. Initially, he practiced on a virtual robot arm that gave him crucial feedback on the accuracy of his visualisations, helping him refine his direction and control.

Eventually, the participant managed to control a real-world robotic arm executing the action. He could perform tasks such as picking up and manipulating blocks, turning them, and relocating them. He even managed to open a cabinet, retrieve a cup, and hold it under a water dispenser—simple tasks but those that can be life-changing for those living with paralysis.

Having established that it can be done is the first stage, a lot more work needs to be put into refining the technique and for it to be deployed among people who have paralysis, Dr. Natraj says. Especially, the system should be able to work fluidly in complex scenarios with many distractions, such as when going to a crowded grocery store, he adds.

The government intensifies efforts to combat cancer through enhanced screening, treatment infrastructure, and financial commitments, aiming to improve patient outcomes and reduce the disease’s impact | File Photograph
| Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Sunday said fighting cancer is a top priority area for policy makers and a sum of ₹3,000 crore has been allocated in the last eight years for high-end treatment.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Truebeam facility (linear accelerator used in radiation oncology) at the State Cancer Institute here.

Cancer treatment a top priority

“We have made cancer treatment top priority. We have increased our baseline for screening and detection. In 1,75,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), screening for oral, breast and cervical cancer has been conducted. We have made the age of 30 mandatory for screening. Cancer treatment is a priority area for policy makers,” he said.

Nadda said more than 26.70 crore people have been screened for oral cancer, following which 1.63 lakh cases were detected.

“As many as 14.6 crore people were screened for breast cancer, resulting in 57,179 detections. More than 9 crore people were screened for cervical cancer, and 96,973 persons were detected with it,” he said.

“The Truebeam facility will help provide high-end treatment here. Our government is fighting cancer aggressively. The word cancer scares people, breaking them emotionally and financially. We can at least make timely interventions and improve the lives of patients by making proactive strategies,” Nadda asserted.

Government initiatives and allocations

Underling steps taken by the Union government, Nadda said 20 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and and equal number of Tertiary Care Cancer Institutes (TCCCs) have been set up, including in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Latur in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region.

Pointing out that 14.50 lakh persons are detected with cancer every year, he said, “In the last eight years, we have allocated ₹3000 crore for high-end treatment. Cancer has become a priority area under our government. It was earlier ignored.” “The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is helping people in cancer treatment. The PMJAY scheme has a scope of intervention in 1960 surgical interventions, of which 219 are related to cancer. This is benefiting the poor. So far, 68.43 lakh hospital admissions have been done through this scheme. The government has spent Rs 13160 crores on the above packages,” Nadda said.

Nadda said the government at the Centre and the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation in the state were fully committed to fighting cancer, adding that a new report had revealed 90 per cent people in the country are now getting treatment within 30 days of detection.

“The Union government will start 200 day care institutes for cancer, of which a sizable number will come up in Maharashtra. The Centre will start 100 nursing colleges with medical colleges. The number of medical seats in 11 colleges in the state has risen by 700. The budget for all this is not a problem for the Modi government,” he asserted.

Speaking on the occasion, CM Fadnavis said the Truebeam facility inaugurated here is the first in the state.

“Earlier, people from Marathwada had to go to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai for treatment. The Truebeam machine will ensure they can get high-end treatment here itself. PET (positron emission tomography) scan has also been sanctioned here,” he said.

Future commitments – better screening and infrastructure

“Cancer is spreading due to food and lifestyle habits. We are taking two approaches to fight cancer. We are treating patients and screening people in very large numbers,” the CM added.

The state government has arranged a loan of ₹5000 crore for infrastructure upgrade at medical colleges, Fadnavis said.

“We have started 10 medical colleges in the recent past. Independent civil hospitals will be established to reduce pressure on medical colleges. A new three-level healthcare system will come up in the state in the next three years,” the chief minister said.

Speaking at the event, state minister for medical education Hasan Mushrif sought AIIMS status for the cancer hospital here and an AIIMS campus in Pune.

“We have given letters with proposals worth ₹5236 crore. The Union government must keep helping states in this regard,” he added.