Can cities beat the heat

Summers have just begun. Heat waves have started to cause discomfort and even distress in some parts of India. The problem is growing more intense and dangerous by the day because of the effects of climate change. In the previous ten years, heat waves were the climate disaster that killed the most people worldwide (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 2020). It is a known fact now that urban areas experience higher temperatures than rural areas. This is called the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Reduced coverage of naturally cooling vegetation and water bodies, increased use of heat-absorbing and heat-retaining building materials, decreased air circulation from densely built infrastructure, and increased production of anthropogenic heat sources, such as waste heat from vehicles and cooling devices, are all potential contributing factors.
Why are South Asian cities particularly vulnerable to heatwaves? South Asia is largely a warm region with soaring temperatures in the summer. The region has also seen rapid and unplanned urbanisation in the last few years, leading to more and more densely populated areas in cities with decreasing green cover. More air pollution from the unchecked spread of cars and other vehicles and cooling devices like refrigerators and ACs in the cities means more heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere. Yet no major action plans are implemented to protect or mitigate heatwaves.
A report titled ‘Urban Heat in South Asia: Integrating People and Place in Adapting to Rising Temperatures’ released by the World Bank recently said, “South Asia, home to a quarter of the world’s population, is a region highly vulnerable to the impacts of urban heat. Although the region is accustomed to the heat, rapid urbanisation and climate change are pushing the region’s limits of adaptation with lethal consequences.” As per the data in the study, 3,600 deaths occurred from heat-related causes in Pakistan and India during the 2015 heat waves. Moreover, a record-breaking heat wave affected at least 1 billion people in India and Pakistan in 2022, with some areas of Pakistan seeing temperatures as high as 51°C.
A hopeful picture is painted in the report saying that a lot of urban development is yet to happen in South Asia. This leaves scope to incorporate measures which can help in mitigating the heat. For instance, the buildings can employ passive cooling techniques rather than just creating concrete jungles with air conditioners. When painted a dark colour, roofs can absorb more than 80 per cent of incoming sunlight. A higher UHI impact and hotter interior air temperatures result from converting this solar energy to heat.
It is time cities followed Ahmedabad in this context. It is the first South Asian city to have a comprehensive plan for mitigating heat-health concerns. In the wake of the 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad, which resulted in 1,344 fatalities, Amdavad Municipal Corporation prepared a heat management plan. A 2018 study showed that over 2,380 deaths have been averted since the implementation of the plan.