Prioritizing Severe Heat: A Matter of Urgency - According to Patralekha Chatterjee
India, a nation highly vulnerable to climate change and weather extremes, is grappling with the escalating challenge of extreme heat. Despite a comprehensive set of proposed long-term measures to mitigate the impact, the political and institutional readiness is not fully prepared to address the issue at scale and with sustained impact.
Heat Action Plans (HAPs) have been developed by over 130 cities and 23 states, drawing inspiration from Ahmedabad’s successful model. These plans encompass diverse heat mitigation strategies, such as cool roofs, urban greenery, parametric insurance, early warning systems, active cooling programs, community cooling shelters, green building incentives, heat-resilient urban planning, and water-based cooling methods. However, financing remains a major weak point, with most current efforts focusing on short-term relief rather than systemic, long-term investments.
The SFC report highlights the lack of key long-term measures such as insurance for lost working hours due to heat, electricity grid retrofits, and cooling access for vulnerable populations. Economically, India must treat heatwaves as a notified disaster to unlock funding and heighten response mechanisms for the protection of workers and public health.
India faces an estimated need of Rs 56.68 trillion to Rs 72 trillion cumulatively by 2030 for climate adaptation and heat action, highlighting a significant funding gap and challenge for policy implementation. Political will and institutional capacity to shift from reactive emergency response to proactive, systemic heat resilience are still evolving but remain insufficient for the scale of the crisis.
The report recommends creating a targeted capacity-building programme for HAP implementation, creating permanent and funded specialist positions in climate-vulnerable districts, and a highly-targeted active cooling programme. The report suggests subsidizing energy-efficient air conditioners for at-risk urban populations.
However, planting trees in densely-populated, informal settlements where land is scarce presents its own challenges. One example given is that trees were planted in eight out of nine cities without aligning with heat vulnerability assessments.
The political climate in India often tends to focus on short-term gains, making tackling systemic challenges like climate change or extreme heat more difficult. Extreme heat is not yet a political issue in India, according to independent researcher Sameet Panda.
As temperatures soar, Maharashtra is experiencing record-breaking heat, with Koregaon Park recording 40.9°C. The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority has forecast heatwave conditions for 108 mandals across the state. Boudh in Odisha reached a scalding 43.6°C on March 16, making it the hottest place in India for the second consecutive day.
The new report titled "Is India Ready for a Warming World?" analyses India’s preparedness for heat extremes projected under +1.5°C of warming. Soaring temperatures could cost India 5.8% of working hours in 2030, equivalent to 34 million full-time jobs, according to the ILO (2019).
In summary, while India has a comprehensive set of proposed long-term measures to mitigate extreme heat, the political and institutional readiness—especially regarding dedicated funding and integrated urban planning—is not fully prepared to meet the escalating heat crisis at scale and with sustained impact. It is crucial for the state government to understand and address the issue to protect its citizens from the detrimental effects of extreme heat.
The SFC report underscores the need for long-term measures such as insurance for lost working hours due to heat, climate-vulnerable district specialists, and energy-efficient AC subsidies for at-risk populations in the realm of health-and-wellness and environmental-science. Furthermore, the report suggests that addressing medical-conditions related to extreme heat requires a proactive, systemic approach, rather than a reactive one, which is crucial in the face of climate change and its impact on India.
