New Delhi: Some of India’s cities most vulnerable to future heat waves focus mainly on immediate responses while long-term measures remain rare, according to a study published on Wednesday.
The analysis by the Sustainable Futures Collaborative, a New Delhi-based research organisation, examines how nine major Indian cities — Bengaluru, Delhi, Faridabad, Gwalior, Kota, Ludhiana, Meerut, Mumbai and Surat — are preparing for the increasing threat of extreme heat.
These cities together account for over 11 per cent of India’s urban population.
The report said that while all nine cities focus on short-term responses to heat waves, “long-term actions remain rare and where they do exist, they are poorly targeted”.
Without effective long-term strategies, India is likely to witness more heat-related deaths due to more frequent, intense and prolonged heat waves in the coming years, the authors said.
“Many of the long-term risk reduction measures we focus on will take several years to mature. They must be implemented now, with urgency, to have a chance of preventing significant increases in mortality and economic damage in the coming decades,” said Aditya Valiathan Pillai, Visiting Fellow at Sustainable Futures Collaborative and Doctoral Researcher at King’s College London.
Most cities studied have adopted short-term measures such as ensuring drinking water access, adjusting work schedules and increasing hospital capacity before or during heat waves, according to the report which is based on interviews with city, district and state government officials responsible for implementing heat-related actions.
Key emergency responses are mainly driven by national and state disaster management and health authorities rather than heat action plans (HAPs). Since HAPs focus largely on long-term strategies, their weak implementation limits their effectiveness, the report said.
The authors said that these cities lack measures such as occupational cooling for workers exposed to extreme heat, insurance for lost wages, better fire management and power grid upgrades. Some initiatives, like tree planting and rooftop solar, do not target the people who need them the most.
While the health sector has taken steps such as training healthcare workers and monitoring heat-related deaths, other critical sectors, including urban planning, have not integrated heat concerns into their policies. The focus remains on treating heat impacts rather than preventing them, the report said.
It pointed out that cities manage short-term measures using existing budgets, but structural changes, such as urban cooling and infrastructure upgrades, require dedicated financial support.
The authors identified poor coordination among government departments, staff shortages, technical gaps and a lack of urgency about heat risks as major obstacles to sustained heat adaptation efforts.
They recommended that local governments use heat action plans to focus on long-term solutions, track their success and ensure they protect the most vulnerable areas.
States can use national and state disaster funds to reduce heat risks and invest in long-term solutions, they said.
The authors also suggested that if cities appoint Chief Heat Officers (CHOs), they must have enough authority and resources to address heat-related challenges. Otherwise, they will struggle like current heat officers.
They also recommended that India’s 10 most heat-affected cities train officials responsible for implementing heat-related policies.
Every district facing serious climate risks should have permanent, well-trained disaster management staff to prepare for future heat waves, they added.
