Maharashtra among top 10 heat risk prone states in country: Study

Of the total districts evaluated, the study has found that at least 417 districts – accounting for 57 percent of total Indian districts – are currently at high to very high heat risk. These districts house nearly 76 percent of the country’s total population.

At the state level, the study showed that nearly ten states are at the highest risk from heat related stress including Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the findings, while the districts have seen a spike in ‘very hot days’, ‘very warm nights’ have seen a much alarming rise over the past decade. The report shows that nearly 70 percent of districts experienced an additional five ‘very warm’ nights during the summer months spanning March to June, in the past ten years, even as only 28 percent districts experienced additional ‘very warm days’.

With urban and dense regions identified as most prone, residents in Mumbai were seen experiencing 15 more ‘very warm nights’, each summer in the past decade, as against the past three decades. Mumbai is followed by Bengaluru which saw an additional 11 ‘very warm nights’, followed by Jaipur, Delhi and Chennai which saw an increase of seven , six and four nights respectively. Experts have pointed to the urban heat island effect, which traps heat during the day, as a key factor influencing this trend.

What makes warmer nights detrimental to health is that it prevents the human body from cooling down after intense daytime heat, increasing health risks like heat strokes as well as diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Experts have said that children, women, elderly and marginalised communities are among the most vulnerable.

Furthermore, the study has also observed that relative humidity levels have seen a 10 per cent jump across North India and the Indo Gangetic plain over the past one decade, exposing farm workers – who spend long durations outdoors – to extreme heat duress.

Amid rising heat-induced risks across the country, the report has recommended that Heat Action Plans (HAP) be regularly updated using granular data and expanded to include measures of night-time heat and humidity stress. Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, said, “We must urgently overhaul city-level Heat Action Plans to address local vulnerabilities, balance emergency response measures with long-term resilience, and secure financing for sustainable cooling solutions.”