Heat risk soars across India, putting 76% of population in danger: Study
New Delhi: About 57 per cent of Indian districts, home to 76 per cent of India's total population, are currently at 'high' to 'very high' heat risk, according to a new study.
According to the study published on Tuesday by Delhi-based climate and energy think-tank Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), the 10 states and union territories with the highest heat risk include Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
It also found that the number of very warm nights has increased faster than that of very hot days in the last decade. Very warm nights and very hot days are defined as periods when minimum and maximum temperatures rise above the 95th percentile threshold, i.e., what was normal for 95 per cent of the time in the past.
As part of the study, CEEW researchers developed a Heat Risk Index (HRI) for 734 districts, using 40 years of climate data (1982-2022) and satellite images to study heat trends, land use, water bodies and green cover.
They also included data on population, buildings, health and socio-economic factors, along with night temperatures and humidity, for a comprehensive picture of heat risk. 'Our study found that 417 out of 734 Indian districts fell in the high and very high risk categories (151 under high risk and 266 under very high risk). A total of 201 districts fell in the moderate category and 116 fell in either the low or very low categories.
'This does not mean that these districts are free of heat risk but that it is relatively lesser than that of other districts,' Vishwas Chitale, senior programme lead at CEEW, said.
According to the study, the number of very hot days is increasing in India, but concerningly, the number of very warm nights is increasing even more, creating health risks.
High night temperatures are considered dangerous because the body does not get a chance to cool down. Increasing nighttime temperature is more common in cities because of the urban heat island effect, in which the metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.
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