Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan
Higher daily peak temperatures and longer more intense heat waves are now more frequent due to climate change
Abstract
Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent globally due to climate change, and a new scale of coordinated action is essential to prevent the dangerous health effects of heat stress. Led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), a coalition of academic, health and environmental groups partnered to prepare local communities for increasingly extreme heat in the city of Ahmedabad, located in Gujarat state of Western India, through an early warning system and heat preparedness plan. Ahmedabad is the first city in South Asia to comprehensively address the health threats of extreme heat. This model can be adapted for other rapidly urbanising cities to prepare for heat waves, as well as other extreme weather events such as flooding and cyclones.
Citation
Tejas Shah; Dileep Mavalankar; Shah Azhar, G.; Anjali Jaiswal; Connolly, M. Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan. (2014) 8 pp. [Inside Stories on climate compatible development]
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