Abstract

Extreme heat poses an unprecedented challenge to health and productivity in India. Heatwaves (prolonged periods of extreme heat) have increased in frequency in recent decades due to climate change. Landmark heatwaves (1998, 2002, 2010, 2015, 2022) have each led to large death tolls (according to government estimates) and extensive economic damage by reducing labour productivity and affecting water availability, agriculture and energy systems. Governments across India at the state, district and municipal levels have responded by creating heat action plans (HAPs), which prescribe a variety of preparatory activities and post-heatwave response measures across government departments to decrease the impact of heatwaves. These documents are meant to be iterated upon and refined over time.

In this brief, we aim to support this process of refinement by conducting what is, to our knowledge, the first critical review of heat action plans in India. We analysed 37 heat action plans at the city (9), district (13) and state (15) levels across 18 states. We identify several opportunities to strengthen Indian HAPs. We also document an encouragingly wide range of solutions (covering 62 distinct intervention types) prescribed across these HAPs, from promoting green roofs to state-wide school awareness programs. This lays out a consolidated toolbox of options for the Indian HAP designer and policymaker.

In general, we find that these HAPs prescribe a balanced mix of short and long-term actions (actions that have an impact over more than one heat season) though it is unclear to what extent these actions are being implemented. Long-term transformational actions, such as climate-sensitive urban planning and changing cropping patterns, will likely come with higher implementation costs than immediate responses but could significantly reduce heat exposure and ease HAP implementation in the long run.