Heat stress: Why are Indian cities the world’s hottest?

According to a global heat map that recently went viral, almost 95 of the world’s 100 hottest places were in India. This summer, Indian cities are recording higher temperatures than even the deserts of West Asia and Africa. How come? 

Climate change is certainly a factor. But it doesn’t exhaust the explanation for why India is so much hotter in April – even before the start of peak summer. 

Though there is global warming, there is evidence that a lot of the warming is specific to India, and to the way India does development – through reckless tree-felling and deforestation, unchecked ecocide, and stacking up tree-scarce cities with cement, concrete, asphalt and glass to produce ‘urban heat islands’. 

What exactly is the relationship between poor planning and heat stress in India? And what does it mean to incorporate heat resilience into urban planning? 

Guest: Environmental expert Karthik Ganesan, Fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Delhi

Host: G. Sampath

Edited and produced by Shiksha Jural

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