India's urban heat islands and its vulnerable communities |
Intense heat is now the new normal for summers in the national capital. As mercury soars to hit new records, despite the relief provided by occasional showers, the roads and the concrete worsen the experience by trapping heat. Yet, while some of us can find respite indoors with access to air-conditioning, or avoid stepping out at noon, millions in India do not have such recourse. Daily wage workers, sanitation workers, street vendors, delivery workers, construction labourers, and informal workers cannot afford to avoid work just because it is too hot outside. Heat, for them, is not merely an inconvenience, it is an occupational hazard.
Heat is not experienced equally by all everywhere. Urban heat is exposing the deep inequalities embedded within India’s development model. Cities today are heating faster than surrounding rural areas because of the urban heat island effect. Add to this shrinking green cover, disappearing water bodies, unending construction work, vehicular pollution and dense, unplanned urbanisation, and Indian cities are becoming massive heat traps. As per the National Institute of Urban Affairs, India’s metropolitan cities have already witnessed an increase of nearly 0.9°C in average temperaatures over recent decades, with heat waves becoming more frequent and intense. Driven by unplanned urbanisation and the climate crisis, urban heat is expected to worsen significantly, with temperatures projected to rise by up to 4.4°C by 2100 under the worst-case emissions scenario.
But beyond climate science, there is also a political economy of heat. The question, ultimately, is: Who gets protection from extreme weather and........