About 57% of Indian districts, home to 76% of India's total population, are currently at 'high' to 'very high' risk due to extreme heat conditions, according to a study published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on May 20.
The study found that the top ten most heat-risk prone states and Union Territories include Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
It also highlighted that the number of very warm nights has increased at an alarming rate compared to the very hot days in the last decade.
According to the CEEW study, very warm nights and very hot days are periods when minimum and maximum temperatures rise above the 95th percentile threshold, i.e., what was normal for 95% of the time in the past.
CEEW researchers developed a Heat Risk Index (HRI) for 734 districts, using 35 indicators incorporating 40 years of climate data (1982-2022) and satellite images to study heat trends, land use, water bodies and green cover.
“Heat stress is no longer a future threat—it’s a present reality. Increasingly erratic weather due to climate change—record heat in some regions, unexpected rain in others—is disrupting how we understand summer in India. But the science from the study is unequivocal: we are entering an era of intense, prolonged heat, rising humidity, and dangerously warm nights. We must urgently overhaul city-level Heat Action Plans to address local vulnerabilities, balance emergency response measures with long-term resilience, and secure financing for sustainable cooling solutions. Further, it’s time to move beyond daytime temperature thresholds and act on what the data tells us: the danger doesn’t end when the sun sets,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW.
Urban heat islands that trap heat during the day and release it at night are likely driving this trend. This has serious health implications, especially for the elderly, outdoor workers, children, and people with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, in both urban and rural areas.
India’s Heat Response Falters
Despite the growing intensity of heatwaves, implementation of Heat Action Plans (HAPs) remains patchy. A study by International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology (iFOREST) of HAPs from nine cities and five districts found that most plans lacked heat impact assessments and offered only generic recommendations. The SFC report, covering over 11% of India’s urban population, flagged poor inter-departmental coordination and limited cross-sector integration as key barriers. As a result, cascading impacts on transport, water, power, health and livelihoods often remain unaddressed.
