Indian cities are ‘heat traps’ that make summers worse

• Indian cities have become "heat traps" due to their unbalanced growth devouring water bodies and increasing greenhouse emissions

Highlights:

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast above-normal temperatures for June in the northwest and central parts of the country including Delhi, making it one of the longest heatwave spells.
• The IMD's heatwave criteria start with 40 degrees in the plains and 30 degrees for hills where it is generally cooler because of elevation.
• Unbalanced urban growth, which has reduced wetlands and water bodies, was another factor
• The emission of greenhouse gases has also gone up.
• The permeable spaces have gone down considerably. The cities actually have become heat traps.
  • As a result, nights are nearly as uncomfortable as days.
• According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) published last month, land surface temperatures during summers from 2001 to 2010 in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai used to drop by up to 13.2 degrees C during the night from their day-time peak.
• Between 2014 and 2023 they were only cooling off by up to 11.5 degrees C.
• Delhi's long-term plan includes increasing heat insulation of buildings, developing shelters for urban poor and slum dwellers, and investing in cooling water bodies.
  • Such plans need to be backed financially
  • Because cities are struggling with their own finances and they don't have additional budgets to implement actions for heat

Prelims Takeaway

• Heatwaves
• wetlands