Scorching reality: India’s cities need urgent climate adaptation measures

The year 2024 has been recorded as the hottest year to date, with average global temperatures of around 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial period levels, according to Munich RE, a German reinsurance agency that compiles international disaster statistics. Global damages from natural disasters in 2024 were estimated at $320 billion, of which only $140 billion were insured. Weather-related disasters accounted for about 93% of the overall losses.

In India, the average annual temperature has risen approximately 0.7°C since 1900. The frequency and intensity of weather-related disasters have also risen sharply in recent decades, leading to large-scale loss of life and property.

A UN report notes that between 1900 and 2007, around 4.25 million people died in India due to droughts, causing economic damage of $942 million. Extreme temperatures caused over 13,000 deaths and damage estimated at $544 million.

According to the Brussels-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), weather-related disasters in India between 2019 and 2023 resulted in estimated losses of $56 billion and about 10,000 deaths.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared 2024 as the country’s hottest year since 1901. Temperatures crossed 45°C in 37 cities and peaked at 52.3°C in Delhi, leading to numerous heat-related illnesses and deaths. The National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) reported that India experienced 77 heatwave days during the 2024 summer. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported over 40,000 cases of heat strokes and 360 deaths in the country in 2024. A separate report, however, estimated about 733 deaths between March and June 2024.

Recently, the IMD issued a fresh alert stating that large parts of India are likely to face severe heatwaves over the next two months, with average temperatures expected to rise by 2°C to 6°C. The agency further warned that average temperatures in 21 cities, including Delhi, will rise to 42°C and above in the coming weeks. In Barmer, Rajasthan, the temperature soared to a scorching 45.6°C.

A study by the New Delhi-based Sustainable Futures Collaborative examined this question by surveying officials at the city, district, and state levels in nine cities – Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai, and Surat. The study assessed the short-
and long-term government measures to tackle heatwaves.

Short-term measures include access to drinking water, adjusted working hours for workers, and increasing hospital capacity to tackle heat-related illnesses. These aim to save lives during emergencies. In contrast, long-term measures focus on bringing about changes in urban form and the built environment, such as expanding urban green cover, reducing density by increasing open space with building setbacks and parks, changing design norms for heat-trapping buildings, improving the capacity of institutions to manage heat risks, and enhancing the capacity of government officials and others to tackle heat-related illnesses and deaths.

The study found that government responses across levels remain largely reactive, relying on emergency measures rather than proactive, long-term strategies.

Bengaluru, once celebrated as a garden city, air-conditioned city, and a pensioner’s paradise, is now often described as a concrete jungle, garbage city, or a chaotic and non-liveable city. Long-time residents recall its pleasant climate, when even ceiling fans were unnecessary in summer; now, air-conditioners have become a necessity. During the 1990s, the city’s average temperature was around 19°C. It rose rapidly in the following decade and reached a high of 26.6°C in 2007. In recent decades, temperatures have hovered around 35°C, peaking at 39.2°C on April 25, 2016.

While climate change is often blamed for rising temperatures, the unsustainable development path followed by Bengaluru and other cities has exacerbated the crisis. The concretisation of the city and loss of its green cover and open spaces, combined with other factors such as increasing population density and vehicular growth, have worsened this situation. White-topped roads, which are expensive, costing Rs 11.59 crore per km as against Rs 1.78 crore per km for asphalted roads as per BBMP data, are preferred over asphalted roads in Bengaluru even though they have contributed to urban heat islands, disrupted the percolation of rainwater to urban aquifers, and caused flooding due to their poor design.

The NPCCHH, established by the Government of India in 2019 in its National Action Plan on Heat-related Illnesses, focuses on how to address the health impacts of heat, clinical management protocols, and health facility preparedness plans, as well as monitoring national heat-related illnesses and deaths. Although the agency spells out several measures to tackle heat-related illnesses (HRI), such as establishing emergency heat rooms in public health centres (PHCs), district and sub-district hospitals, dedicated beds for patients with severe HRI, ensuring emergency active cooling and hydration facilities, and strengthening the capacity of PHCs and ambulances to tackle HRI, most of these measures have remained on paper. The best example of this is the death of 33 election officials and workers from heat stroke in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha during the last Lok Sabha elections due to lack of basic infrastructure in polling stations to cope with the severe heat wave conditions prevailing during May 2024.

Placing emphasis on green buildings and green solutions is the way ahead for tackling the rising heat risks faced by our cities and citizens.

(The writer is Lead Author, GEO-7, United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi)