Fountains, green shades and alerts: MMR's 1st heat action plan in Thane faces real test

Time of India

04-05-2025

Thane: On sweltering afternoons, auto driver Tukaram Sakpal often stops at one of Thane's new water fountains to refill his bottle. "I usually carry water from home, but it runs out quickly," he said, adding, "These fountains are a blessing for those working outdoors."
The installation of some 50 water fountains in Thane are part of the city's Heat Action Plan, launched last summer to cope with rising temperatures. Climate projections by New Delhi-based think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water, which helped prepare the Thane plan, indicate a threefold increase in the frequency of extreme hot days from 2024 to 2040, compared to 1982-2024, as well as a fourfold increase in warm nights.
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Thane's plan, the first in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR) based on hyperlocal heat-risk mapping, is being rolled out in phases. The first phase includes public water fountains, green shade nets at traffic junctions, and the creation of a heat task force, reports Manoj Badgeri.
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Water fountains installed in Thane as part of the city's Heat Action Plan have been a hit. The average daily water consumption is 2,500 litres, with the highest use occurring between 9 am and 4 pm, according to Jitendra Mehta from the NGO JVM Foundation, which has installed around 28 fountains. And while the green 'shades' at traffic junctions have been put up at only a few spots, officials are looking to expand them to other junctions where wait time is over 60 seconds, said Thane municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao.
"Rising temperatures from global warming have made heat waves more frequent, even in coastal areas like Thane," said urban planner Sulakshana Mahajan, adding, "Rapid urbanization is also a major factor, as increased construction, more vehicles, and fewer green spaces cause the
urban heat island effect
, where heat is trapped by infrastructure, making the city much hotter than rural areas."
Meanwhile, the task force—comprising municipal officials and NGOs— monitors weather conditions and issues alerts. "We study climatic patterns and release advisories to help people take precautions," said Manisha Pradhan from the Thane Municipal Pollution Control Board. The education department, for instance, recently advised schools to end classes before noon during heatwave conditions.
Such advisories are crucial. Many residents may not recognize early signs of heat-related illness. Sanjay Desai, a 35-year-old sales representative, collapsed on his way to a client meeting and was later diagnosed with heat exhaustion—something he had earlier mistaken for stress. But the real test of Thane's heat action plan lies in the next phase: trying to physically cool down the city with rooftop gardens and 'cool pavements'----the latter comprises covering paved areas with special white paint to reflect the sun away from the street. The longer-term measures also include targeting interventions to vulnerable areas and populations; training health workers; increasing green cover; and integrating heat risk into urban planning.
However, funds for the second phase have yet to materialise. Pradhan said that some funding will be done through special budget allocations, while other elements are being financed through CSR funds. Funding of longer-term measures is a problem across cities: A recent study based on interviews with officials in nine cities, found long-term actions for reducing heat risk were either absent or poorly implemented in all those cities.
Local green activists also point out the irony of plans to increase green cover, on the one hand, while simultaneously destroying thousands of trees for infrastructure projects. "Studies show a 3°C rise in the temperature difference between felt and dry temperatures over the past few years, indicating that despite the tall claims of planting compensatory trees, the city's green cover is no longer effective in cooling the area," said Nishant Bangera of Muse Foundation. He pointed out that over 6,500 trees have been approved for removal or transplantation since 2022.
"Not touching the tree cover would have naturally cooled off the city," Bangera said.
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