India’s heatwave crisis: How concrete cities are fueling climate emergency

By Rajkumar Sinha* 

According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement. A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.

The growing intensity of heatwaves is affecting city residents most severely, with workers and vulnerable communities bearing the heaviest burden. Alarmingly, 95 of the world’s 100 hottest cities are now located in India. Rapid urban construction and large-scale destruction of forests have erased the natural cooling systems that once protected cities from extreme heat. Lakes and ponds are increasingly being filled by builders and converted into housing projects. Concrete structures and asphalt roads absorb heat throughout the day and release it at night, making cities significantly hotter than surrounding rural areas.

The excessive use of vehicles, industries, and air conditioners generates enormous quantities of artificial heat, further intensifying urban temperatures. In the capital city of Bhopal, the decline in green cover has been dramatic. According to reports by the Indian Institute of Forest Management and Indian Institute of Science, forests covered nearly 35 percent of the city’s area in 2009. By 2019, this had fallen to just 9 percent, and projections suggest it could shrink to barely 3 percent by 2030.

India is aggressively cutting trees to build highways and clearing forests for mining projects, and the consequences are now becoming painfully visible. The country is rapidly turning into a “heat chamber,” yet those responsible often escape accountability by blaming the weather alone. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, India is the world’s fifth most vulnerable country to extreme weather events and climate change. A global review published in 2017 warned that if current warming trends continue, increasing heat and humidity by the end of the century could make it impossible for people exposed to direct sunlight for six hours or more to survive in some regions.

C40 Cities, a network of cities across 96 countries working on climate action, estimates that more than 350 cities around the world are already suffering from extreme heat. By 2050, this number could rise to 970.

The climate phenomenon known as El Niño has also contributed to the abnormal rise in global temperatures. Scientists warn that future El Niño events could push temperatures to record-breaking levels. While El Niño was once considered a natural climatic cycle, human-induced climate change is now intensifying its effects. Oceans are continuously warming, and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. The primary driver of worsening heatwaves remains global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, petrol, and diesel. These fuels release gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat and raising the Earth’s temperature.

Over the past four decades, both the frequency and intensity of heatwaves in India have increased significantly, worsening conditions across many regions. The state of Madhya Pradesh has prepared a State Climate Change Action Plan for 2023–28 with a proposed budget of ₹97,000 crore. Yet the state’s environment department receives barely ₹31 crore. Meanwhile, a report by the Centre for Science and Environment states that between January 2022 and 2025, Madhya Pradesh experienced severe weather conditions on 598 days, resulting in 1,439 deaths.

Governments are still failing to treat the climate crisis with the seriousness it demands. At a time when countries across the world are increasing investments to confront climate change, governments in India need to move beyond symbolic plans and prepare concrete, implementable strategies. Climate change is no longer a future threat; it has become the greatest humanitarian crisis of the present.

India’s cities are rapidly transforming into dangerous heat chambers where unchecked construction, deforestation, destruction of water bodies, and a fossil-fuel-driven development model have severely disrupted ecological balance. The worst consequences are falling on the poor, workers, the elderly, and marginalized communities who lack the resources to protect themselves from rising temperatures.

The shrinking green cover and rising heat in cities such as Bhopal are warning signs of a future in which both livelihoods and human survival may come under serious threat if the current development trajectory continues. Governments cannot evade responsibility by dismissing the climate crisis as merely an unusual weather event. When scientists are warning that extreme heat could become unbearable for human life in coming decades, merely drafting plans is not enough. What is needed is adequate funding, political will, and active public participation.

The time has come to redefine development itself. No model of progress can be sustainable without protecting trees, forests, lakes, rivers, and natural resources. If governments, industries, and society continue to ignore these warnings, future generations may inherit an India where heat is no longer just an inconvenience, but an existential crisis.

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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association