Heat index maps for Tamil Nadu
▪ The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, is now using the Heat Index on an experimental basis in the State to forecast how temperature and humidity could affect human discomfort.
▪ The heat index maps for Tamil Nadu, which are now being used by weather forecasters, provide information about the impact of humidity on high temperature and real-feel temperature.
▪ With colour codes like red, yellow, and orange for experimental heat index,
▪ The RMC also provides inputs to the State Disaster Management Authority and the State Planning Commission for heat-action plan and heat-mitigation strategy.
▪ The RMC is equipping itself to improve forecast accuracy and increase the density of observational network, under Mission Mausam.
▪ A total of 22 agro-meteorology automatic weather stations would be set up across the State.
▪ Tamil Nadu would also get two more Doppler weather radars, including one at Kanniyakumari.
Impact of telemedicine in STEMI care system: A five-year experience from Tamil Nadu, India’
▪ The Tamil Nadu Government Heart Attack Management Programme — operationalised in a hub-and-spoke model, networking 18 government medical college hospitals and 188 district/taluk government hospitals.
▪ A study analysing the five-year (2019-2023) experience of the programme has found that WhatsApp groups are a cost-effective way of networking larger and smaller hospitals in a hub-and-spoke model to provide telemedicine guidance for early diagnosis and treatment of major heart attacks (STEMI — ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction).
Study results
▪ There was a 67% annual increase in the total number of individuals treated for STEMI.
▪ The proportion of individuals receiving pharmaco-invasive therapy increased from 7.9% to 31.7%.
▪ The number of individuals who did not receive guideline-directed treatment decreased by 20%.
