Heat Action Plans for Heat-Health Resilience in India

Summary

In 2024, the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) , committed to develop an easy-to-use, automated, open-access tool for administrators and decision-makers to facilitate the creation of heat action plans (HAPs) and their annual revisions with minimal input from government stakeholders. Efforts will drive sustainable development and build resilience on a large scale to enhance the heat resilience of more than 4500 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India. The HAPs will consist of three critical components – when to take action; where to take action; who will and how to take action – which will be developed and revised for the HAPs in line with the guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority. Additionally, in states where the impacts of heat are identified to be the highest, CEEW will conduct capacity building activities for health and disaster management officials. The implementation of these HAPs should substantially reduce heat-related mortalities and illnesses.

Approach

The Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) , commits to the development of an easy-to-use, automated, open-access tool for administrators and decision-makers to facilitate the creation of Heat Action Plans (HAPs) , and their annual revisions with minimal input from government stakeholders. CEEW will utilize data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to drive sustainable development and build resilience on a large scale to enhance the heat resilience of over 4500+ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in India.
The HAPs will consist of three critical components, which will be developed and revised for the HAPs in line with the guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) .

First, when to take action: Establishing city-specific thresholds for heat-health early warning systems based on both dry heat and felt heat (for coastal cities) . Second, where to take action: Conducting granular administrative unit-level heat risk assessments using the IPCC AR5 risk assessment framework. This involves mapping the combined impacts of day-time, night-time heat extremes, and the urban heat island phenomenon on socio-economic and health vulnerabilities. Third, who will and how to take action: This involves a stakeholder wise responsibility matrix with key actions identified for heat risk mitigation, preparedness, response and relief.

Additionally, in states where the impacts of heat are identified to be the highest, CEEW will conduct capacity building activities for health and disaster management officials. We will also develop Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) material to ensure that heat-related communications reach the most vulnerable populations effectively. The implementation of these HAPs is expected to substantially reduce heat-related mortalities and illnesses, serving as a model for other developing countries grappling with escalating heat stress. Throughout this process, CEEW will closely collaborate with key stakeholders including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) , India Meteorological Department (IMD) , and state governments to ensure alignment and maximize impact.

Action Plan

To effectively implement the commitment, CEEW has devised a structured timeline with clear steps:

2024-25:
Q1: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in India to identify gaps and develop a robust city-level HAP framework.

Q2: Select one city and work closely with stakeholders to develop a heat risk-informed HAP, which will be implemented to test the effectiveness of the framework.

Q3: Based on the learnings from the city-level HAP, develop a prototype of an automated tool to streamline the process.

Q4: Deploy the automated HAP developer tool to generate HAPs for all states in India.

2025-26:
Q1: Expand efforts by engaging with two additional cities to develop their HAPs; concurrently, gather feedback from the state-level HAPs to enhance the functionality of the tool.

Q2: Using the refined tool, develop HAPs for all cities in two priority hotspot states.

Q3 & Q4: With validated outputs from cities of two states, automate the development of HAPs for all cities across India; focus on engaging with Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to ensure the effective implementation of HAPs.

Background

As the globe breaches the 1.5°C global warming threshold, the regional implications of this accelerated climate change are already visible. Mortalities and morbidities due to heat stress are projected to be the biggest climate risk in South Asia, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In India, a developing country in the Global South, more than 1 billion people are exposed to heatwaves in nearly 23 heatwave-prone states (India Meteorological Department 2023) . In 2022, one of the longest-lasting heat waves occurred, and in 2024, India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted 20 heatwave days in summer, compared to the normal range of 4-8 heatwave days in the past. The impacts of heatwaves in cities will be compounded by urban heat islands and rapid urbanization. Coastal cities in India will face an additional challenge due to the added impacts of humidity, which can increase the felt heat by up to 4-5°C (TMC and CEEW 2024) .

India’s response to the escalating heat stress has been in the form of heat action plans (HAPs) — which provide the complete framework for heat action focusing on preparedness, response and relief. HAPs have demonstrated efficiency in saving lives post-implementation, such as the Ahmedabad city HAP, which is estimated to have avoided nearly 1000 deaths per year post-implementation (Ahmedabad HAP 2019) . Currently, 23 states and 130+ Indian cities have HAPs developed. However, there are 4500+ urban local bodies in India that need to develop HAPs to build heat resilience and minimize the health risks, which requires capacity among government stakeholders to analyze big climate data and map out the health vulnerabilities and at-risk populations. Developing HAPs for all cities in India will cost nearly $108.8 million and take approximately 12-15 years, if done individually. Such a challenge requires solutions that are efficient, cost-effective, and leverage technological advancements.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

Best Practice: Access to proven methodologies and successful strategies for developing and implementing Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in urban areas, particularly in the context of innovative approaches to reduce health risks.

Financial Resources: Funding support to scale up the development and implementation of our automated tool for creating HAPs, as well as for conducting capacity building activities and developing IEC materials.

Implementing Partners: Collaboration with organizations or institutions experienced in disaster management, public health, and urban planning to ensure effective implementation of our heat resilience initiatives., Best practice: Given that health risks from heat stress could potentially be the biggest climatic risk in south Asia, the automated HAP framework can serve as a best practice for building resilience to heat stress at a city level especially in the developing countries throughout the world and South Asia as similar tools can be developed for them.

Topic Expertise: CEEW has more than 300+ people strong multidisciplinary team working across various thematic areas and can support the partners with topic expertise on mapping the multi-sectoral impacts of heat stress. Primarily, the research can be supported by leveraging big climate and geospatial data for conducting ]granular heat risk and vulnerability assessments across sectors.