Infra, roads raising night temps in cities by 3-4 degrees, Delhi vulnerable to floods: Report
NEW DELHI: Night-time temperatures in major Indian cities exceed those of surrounding rural areas by 3-4 degree celsius round the year, primarily because of structures, roads and other infrastructure, a new World Bank report has revealed.
It has specified that while Lucknow experiences 5 degree celsius more during night-time, in case of Chennai and Surat it's 3-4 degree celsius higher.
The report titled 'Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India' released on Tuesday found that intense heat waves and urban heat island effects are causing temperature rise in city centers and has projected that heat hazards will increase significantly in the coming decades, with the magnitude of the increase depending on the global emissions scenario.
The report covered 24 Indian cities, with a special focus on Chennai, Indore, New Delhi, Lucknow, Surat and Thiruvananthapuram.
The report has also found how the risk of pluvial flooding (surface water floods due to heavy rains) is estimated to increase by 73-100% in the next 50 years.
Among cities, Delhi has the maximum built up area exposed to pluvial floods.
"Under continuing urbanisation and climate impacts and without any remedial actions, annual losses from pluvial flooding are expected to be $5 billion by 2030, and between $14 to $30 billion by 2070," the report said.
It said that under a high global emission scenario, residents of densely built neighbourhoods in Chennai, Lucknow, Surat will experience between 30% and 50% more extremely hot days and nights by 2050 than at present.
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Three years later, the mess hasn't been fixed. Parts of Bengaluru flooded again this May, including major bus depots and Manyata Tech Park, an office district built on the bed of the erstwhile Nagawara Lake. In a 2023 report, real estate consulting firm Knight Frank estimated that over half of the city's stormwater drainage infrastructure had fallen into disrepair; there are now only 842 km of drains within the BBMP limits, comprising 633 drains. Besides, the city's famous lakes, which acted as rainwater harvesting reservoirs, are rapidly disappearing. Knight Frank estimated that the city needs an additional 658km of stormwater drains to make sure it doesn't flood again. At a cost of ₹2.2 crore per km, this will take over ₹1,400 crore to build, with another ₹556 crore needed to fix and maintain existing drains. The consulting firm further estimated that the city will need another ₹800 crore to clean lakes, nallahs, and reservoirs, which are all crucial in managing excess rainwater.' 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