Up and down the country, cities are increasingly facing challenges related to urbanisation as well as climate change. But nowhere are these two sets of concerns more alarming than in coastal cities such as Chennai. On the one hand, climate change is not only raising temperatures at an alarming rate but also making incidence of rainfall more erratic and cyclonic storms more frequent. On the other hand, cities are struggling to adapt to such environmental changes through better urban planning. Indeed, many experts believe unchecked and often ill-conceived construction is equally responsible for cities such as Chennai routinely facing both floods as well as lack of drinking water all at the same time.

In June 2023, the Tamil Nadu government launched Chennai’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP), making it the second Indian city to have a Paris Agreement-aligned CAP. How is this changing urban planning in Chennai? What lessons can the rest of the country, especially the coastal cities, learn from Chennai’s example? What more needs to be done to ensure India’s coastal cities can deal with climate change?