Heat waves - Question of Cities

Five issues missing from our conversations on heat

The rising temperatures and heat waves are taking a toll on people across India. Last summer, at least 733 heat-related deaths and more than 40,000 heatstroke cases were recorded in 17 states between March and June, a report showed. Temperatures…

How Delhi’s poor and homeless beat the heat on their own

The country’s capital recorded this year’s first heat wave in early April, with temperatures touching 40.2 degrees Celsius. With summer making an early and harsh onset, the most vulnerable people – the homeless – have only themselves to rely upon…

Urgent heat conversations and actions we need in India to cool down cities

As millions of Indians struggle through an relentlessly scorching summer with never-before high temperatures, Heat Action Plans have become critical to people’s lives and livelihoods. Although states and cities have prepared plans – and some have fitfully implemented them –…

The green does not have to lose the battle to the grey in our cities

Large swathes of green cover are being cleared to make way for construction and infrastructure across cities in India. Trees are being cut, large canopies felled, old trees badly and unscientifically pruned. Urban plans and projects do not take trees…

Bengal’s cities face ‘extreme danger’ as they turn heat wave hotspots

Kolkata and Asansol, the former with its proximity to the sea and the latter located near the lower fringes of the Chhota Nagpur plateau, experienced sudden and intense heat this year. Both the cities in West Bengal have expanded in…

Heat Action Plans: The way ahead as India sizzles with higher temperatures

As cities in India brace for a harsh summer once again, the importance of Heat Action Plans has been underlined. A good plan implemented effectively can reduce heat-related illnesses and deaths. A draft model plan, complete with the framework, has…

Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan has more hot air, less gas to propel it forward

The idea of Heat Action Plan for cities has come a long way from 2013 when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation rolled out its plan for the city that was scorched by a heat wave resulting in at least 1,344 deaths.…

The story of India’s scorched cities in four maps

Why India’s cities need to prepare and implement Heat Action Plans is evident in the maps which clearly show the rising frequency of heat waves and higher summer-like temperatures before the season sets in. From an average of 7.4 days…

Brace for impact: Brutal heat due to unsustainable urbanisation will wallop the urban poor

Extreme weather events including intense heat waves, among other manifestations of Climate Change, were flagged off years ago in the reports by scientists and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The intensity and frequency of heat waves increased this…