A post is being shared on social media claiming that it is a leaflet provided by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for people to protect themselves from heat-related illnesses. Amid the searing summer temperatures and rising deaths due to sun strokes in Thane and other parts of Mumbai, the post claims that the Thane Municipal Corporation issued this leaflet cautioning people about the symptoms and precautionary measures of heat-related illnesses. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Guidelines issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation for people to protect themselves from heat-related illnesses.
Fact: The post shares a leaflet or pamphlet published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US government. The leaflet was not issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On observing the photo carefully, one could see the watermark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the bottom left of the leaflet. When we searched for this leaflet using relevant keywords on the internet, we found the same leaflet on the official website of the CDC. CDC published this leaflet with the description, “Heat-related illnesses are preventable. Learn the symptoms and what to do if you or a loved one shows signs of having a heat-related illness.”
When we searched to check whether the Thane Municipal Corporation had issued any such advisories related to heat-related illnesses, we could not find any such leaflet or press note on the official website of Thane Municipal Corporation. In view of rising temperatures in Mumbai and the widespread criticism after 13 people died of heatstroke at the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’ award event on 16 April 2023 in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, the Public Health Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reportedly issued guidelines to protect oneself from heat-related complications. Reporting these guidelines issued by the BMC, several news websites published articles. They can be seen here and here. But the leaflet shared in the post was neither issued by the Thane Municipal Corporation nor the BMC.
To sum it up, this leaflet informing symptoms and precautionary measures of heat-related illnesses was issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not the Thane Municipal Corporation.
