Heat Action Plans in India (2013 Onwards): From Reactive Emergency Response to Proactive Climate Adaptation

Background 

In May 2010, Ahmedabad experienced a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching 46.8°C. The heatwave was associated with 1,344 excess all-cause deaths in the city during May alone, a 43.1% increase compared with the reference period. The event showed how vulnerable many sections of the urban population were to extreme heat, particularly people living in informal settlements, outdoor workers, older people, and those with limited access to cooling and healthcare. In response, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, along with public-health institutions and international experts, developed South Asia’s first comprehensive Heat Action Plan (HAP). It was piloted in 2013 and fully implemented in 2014.

Ahmedabad’s experience marked an important change in how extreme heat was approached in India. Instead of treating a heatwave only as a weather event, the HAP connected weather warnings with public-health preparedness, community awareness, and coordination between different departments. The Ahmedabad model later influenced the development of Heat Action Plans in several other Indian cities and states.

India is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat because rising temperatures are combined with rapid urbanisation, socioeconomic inequalities, occupational exposure, and unequal access to cooling. Research suggests that under a 2°C global warming scenario, severe heatwaves in India could become more frequent by the end of the century. Recent assessments also indicate that 57% of India’s districts, covering around 76% of the country’s population, face high to very high heat risk.

At the same time, measuring the health impact of extreme heat remains difficult. Different government systems use different methods for recording heat-related deaths, depending on whether a death is classified as heatstroke, heat-related illness or excess mortality. For instance, the National Crime Records Bureau reported 3,798 deaths from heat and sunstroke between 2018 and 2022, while the health surveillance system follows a separate method for recording suspected and confirmed heatstroke cases and deaths. In 2024, the Union Health Ministry’s surveillance system recorded thousands of suspected heatstroke cases and hundreds of confirmed deaths across different states.

These differences make it difficult to understand the full health burden of extreme heat through official mortality figures alone. Therefore, the effectiveness of Heat Action Plans should not be judged only by the number of officially recorded heatstroke deaths. It should also be assessed in terms of early warning, preparedness, coordination between institutions, protection of vulnerable groups and longer-term adaptation.

Functioning

Heat Action Plans in India mainly operate at the state, district and city levels within the broader disaster-management and public-health system. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued guidelines for the preparation and implementation of Heat Action Plans, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) provides weather forecasts and heatwave warnings. Health departments, municipal authorities, disaster-management agencies, labour departments and other institutions are involved in their implementation.

The basic purpose of a HAP is to identify dangerous heat conditions in advance and decide what actions need to be taken before, during and after a heatwave. Although the details vary across places, most plans include four broad areas.

Early Warning Systems: HAPs use forecasts and heatwave warnings issued by the IMD to initiate a series of actions. Ahmedabad’s original system included a seven-day probabilistic forecast to give authorities advance information about the possibility of dangerous heat. More recent approaches are also beginning to consider factors such as humidity and heat stress rather than relying only on maximum temperature.

The important point is that a warning should lead to action. Simply informing people that a heatwave is expected is not enough unless departments, hospitals and communities know what they are expected to do.

Community Outreach and Public Awareness: Public awareness is another important part of HAPs. Authorities use announcements, advisories, posters, media campaigns and community-level programmes to inform people about heat-related risks. These measures generally focus on staying hydrated, avoiding unnecessary exposure during peak heat hours, recognising symptoms of heat-related illness and ensuring access to water and shade.

Some plans have also introduced cooling spaces and measures to provide water in vulnerable settlements. Such measures are particularly important for people who may not have access to air conditioning or other forms of cooling.

Healthcare System Preparedness: Heatwaves can place additional pressure on hospitals and health workers. HAPs therefore include measures such as training healthcare staff, improving surveillance of heat-related illnesses, preparing health facilities and ensuring the availability of necessary treatment and cooling facilities.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illnesses provides guidance on clinical management, health-facility preparedness, surveillance and coordination between different sectors.

Cool Roofs and Infrastructure Adaptation: Some HAPs are also beginning to move beyond immediate emergency response. Ahmedabad’s Cool Roofs Programme is an example of this approach. It uses reflective roofing materials to reduce indoor temperatures and heat exposure.

Such measures are important because they connect heatwave preparedness with longer-term changes in the built environment. They also show that HAPs do not have to remain limited to warnings and emergency measures.

Performance

Ahmedabad provides one of the strongest examples of the potential impact of a well-designed Heat Action Plan. A peer-reviewed evaluation comparing mortality before and after implementation estimated that around 1,190 deaths (MoHFW, 2021) were avoided annually following the introduction of the HAP. The study also found a considerable reduction in the relationship between extreme temperatures and mortality, particularly at very high temperatures.

The importance of Ahmedabad is not only the estimated number of deaths avoided. The city developed a system in which forecasting, public warnings, healthcare preparedness and coordination between different departments were brought together. This suggests that Heat Action Plans can reduce the impact of extreme heat when they are properly designed and implemented.

The experience of other states also shows the wider adoption of the HAP approach. Odisha has incorporated heat preparedness into its disaster-management framework, with measures focusing on early warnings, public awareness and protection of vulnerable groups. Maharashtra has similarly developed heat action planning at the state and local levels, highlighting the importance of local risk assessment and coordination between health and disaster-management authorities. These examples indicate that the HAP model has moved beyond Ahmedabad, although the quality and depth of implementation continue to vary across states. 

Table 1: Selected Evidence on Heat Action Plans in India

Sources: Hess et al. (2018); Council on Energy, Environment and Water (2025).

Table 1 highlights the changing scale and geographical distribution of heat-related risk in India. The indicators are included to show why heat action planning has become increasingly important for both public health and disaster preparedness. 

This is an important implementation gap. The existence of an HAP does not necessarily mean that a city has identified its most vulnerable neighbourhoods, occupations or populations. Effective plans need local information on heat exposure, health vulnerability, housing conditions, water availability, occupational patterns and urban infrastructure.

Impact

India’s Heat Action Plans have had their clearest impact in three areas: increasing institutional awareness of extreme heat, improving emergency preparedness and demonstrating the potential of early-warning systems to reduce heat-related mortality.

First, HAPs have helped shift extreme heat from being seen simply as a seasonal weather problem to being treated as a public-health and disaster-management concern. The Ahmedabad experience showed that weather warnings could be directly connected with health-system preparedness and community action.

Second, HAPs have encouraged coordination between different departments. Extreme heat affects more than public health. It can influence labour productivity, water supply, electricity demand, transport, education and urban infrastructure. A coordinated HAP gives different departments an opportunity to prepare for these effects together rather than responding separately.

Third, the HAP framework is gradually moving towards longer-term risk reduction. CEEW’s assessment of heat risk across 734 Indian districts shows the value of combining temperature data with information on exposure and vulnerability. Such assessments can help authorities identify areas where the risk is highest and where adaptation measures should be prioritised.

However, implementation remains uneven. India’s disaster-management system has traditionally placed greater emphasis on immediate response than on long-term heat adaptation. This has started to change. The Ministry of Home Affairs now includes heatwaves among the disasters eligible for support under the State Disaster Response Fund, while heatwave mitigation measures can also be supported through the State Disaster Mitigation Fund.

The issue, therefore, is not only whether funding mechanisms are available. The bigger question is whether states can use these resources for locally relevant measures such as heat-risk mapping, cooling infrastructure, occupational protection and climate-resilient urban planning.

The problem of mortality data also remains important. Different government agencies use different definitions and reporting systems for heat-related deaths, while studies based on excess mortality can identify deaths that may not be officially attributed to heat. The Ministry of Health has also recognised the need for better integration of data on heat-related cases and deaths.

Better mortality surveillance is therefore important not only for understanding the actual health burden of heat but also for assessing whether Heat Action Plans are working and which communities need greater protection.

Emerging Issues

The Reactive Versus Proactive Gap: Heat Action Plans have become an important part of India’s response to extreme heat, but many plans still focus heavily on emergency measures such as issuing warnings, distributing water, advising people to remain indoors and preparing hospitals.

The next stage of heat governance should focus more on prevention and adaptation. This means addressing the conditions that make people vulnerable even before a heatwave occurs. Housing quality, access to water, urban design, tree cover, occupational exposure, building materials and access to cooling all influence how people experience extreme heat.

A good HAP should therefore answer four basic questions: when to act, where to act, what action to take and who is responsible. Without clear responsibilities and locally appropriate thresholds, an HAP can remain more of a policy document than an effective operational plan.

Urban Heat Islands and Planning Failures: India’s rapidly growing cities face another challenge in the form of the urban heat-island effect. Built-up surfaces, reduced vegetation, human activity and heat generated by vehicles and air-conditioning can make urban areas considerably warmer than nearby rural areas.

Recent World Bank analysis indicates that nighttime temperatures in major Indian cities can be around 3°C to 5°C higher than in surrounding rural areas. This makes urban planning an important part of heat adaptation.

HAPs therefore need to be connected with urban master plans, building regulations, housing programmes and green infrastructure. Measures such as cool roofs, tree cover, protection of water bodies, shaded public spaces and passive cooling can help reduce heat exposure over the long term rather than only during a heatwave.

Occupational Heat Exposure: An Emerging Policy Priority: Outdoor workers, including construction workers, agricultural labourers, street vendors and sanitation workers, face a particularly high risk because they often cannot avoid working during periods of extreme heat.

India has taken some steps in this direction. In April 2025, the Ministry of Labour and Employment advised states and Union Territories to adopt measures such as changing working hours, providing drinking water, improving workplace ventilation and cooling, creating rest areas and conducting health checks for workers.

However, these measures are still largely advisory, and their implementation can vary across sectors and states. India would benefit from a stronger occupational heat-safety framework that provides minimum protections for workers while allowing local authorities to adjust working arrangements according to heat and humidity conditions.

Data Fragmentation and Mortality Undercounting: The differences between heat-related mortality figures reported through different government systems show the need for better surveillance.

Heat can contribute to cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and other health problems without necessarily being recorded as the immediate cause of death. As a result, focusing only on officially certified heatstroke deaths may not capture the wider health burden associated with extreme heat.

A stronger system should bring together hospital records, civil-registration data, public-health surveillance and district-level reporting. Where possible, the data should also be disaggregated by age, gender, occupation, location and socioeconomic vulnerability.

Climate Projections Versus Policy Ambition: The climate conditions under which India’s early Heat Action Plans were developed are changing. Research suggests that the frequency and intensity of severe heatwaves are likely to increase under continued warming.

This means that historical temperature thresholds cannot remain unchanged forever. HAPs need to be reviewed periodically using updated climate projections, local mortality and morbidity data, humidity, nighttime temperatures, and changing patterns of exposure.

The aim should not only be to respond more quickly to existing heatwave thresholds. It should also be to regularly reconsider what constitutes dangerous heat as the climate changes.

Way Forward

India’s experience with Heat Action Plans shows that organised preparedness can reduce the impact of extreme heat. Ahmedabad provides the clearest example of how early warnings, public communication, healthcare preparedness and coordination between departments can work together.

The next challenge is to take these lessons beyond individual cities and build a stronger system of proactive heat adaptation across India.

First, heat-risk assessments should become a regular part of HAPs. State disaster management authorities, municipal bodies and district administrations should jointly identify vulnerable neighbourhoods, occupations, age groups, housing conditions and access to water and healthcare. 

Second, state governments should make greater use of the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) for these measures, particularly heat-risk mapping, cooling infrastructure and climate-resilient public facilities. 

Third, urban local bodies should be given a clearer role in implementing measures such as cool roofs, shaded public spaces, water access and heat-resilient urban infrastructure. Similarly, State Labour Departments should be responsible for monitoring work-rest arrangements and heat-safety measures for outdoor workers. 

Fourth, occupational heat protection needs greater attention. Labour departments, employers and local authorities should implement appropriate work-rest cycles, drinking-water facilities, shaded rest areas and heat-health training, particularly for outdoor and informal workers. 

Fifth, India needs better heat-health surveillance. State health departments and district health authorities should work towards integrating hospital records, heat-related illness surveillance and mortality data to improve assessment of HAP outcomes. 

Finally, HAPs should be treated as evolving plans rather than fixed documents. State and district authorities should review them after each heat season using updated climate, health and implementation data. 

India’s experience since Ahmedabad’s first Heat Action Plan shows that extreme heat is not simply an unavoidable part of summer. The risks associated with it can be reduced through better planning and timely action. However, the next phase of heat governance needs to go beyond emergency response and focus more strongly on long-term adaptation.

The real challenge is not only to warn people that a heatwave is coming but also to make our cities, workplaces, health systems and communities better prepared for the heat that is already becoming a part of India’s changing climate.

References

Council on Energy, Environment and Water. (2025, May 20). How extreme heat is impacting India: Assessing district-level heat risk. https://www.ceew.in/publications/mapping-climate-risks-and-impacts-of-extreme-heatwave-disaster-in-indian-districts

Council on Energy, Environment and Water. (2026, June 23). How we build scientific Heat Action Plans with Indian cities. https://www.ceew.in/blogs/scientific-heat-action-plans-indian-cities

Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (2021). National action plan on heat-related illnesses. National Centre for Disease Control. https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/uploads/pdf/heat12.pdf 

Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. (2026). State Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Mitigation Fund. https://ndmindia.mha.gov.in/ndmi/response-fund

Government of India, Ministry of Labour and Employment. (2025, April 22). Centre writes to chief secretaries/administrators of all states/UTs on measures for effective management and mitigation of adverse effects of extreme heat waves on workers and labourers. https://www.labour.gov.in/

Government of India, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. (2026, July 20). Mitigating the urban heat island effect in Indian cities. Press Information Bureau. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286772

India Meteorological Department. (2023). Heatwave guidelines and advisories. https://internal.imd.gov.in/pages/heatwave_mausam.php

Mishra, V., Mukherjee, S., Kumar, R., & Stone, D. A. (2017). Heat wave exposure in India is currently in current, 1.5°C, and 2.0°C worlds. Environmental Research Letters, 12(12), 124012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa9388

National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India. (2019). National guidelines for preparation of action plan—Prevention and management of heat wave. https://ndma.gov.in/

National Human Rights Commission. (2025, May 1). NHRC, India calls for preventive measures by 11 states to protect the lives of vulnerable people from heat waves in this summer. https://nhrc.nic.in/

National Centre for Disease Control. (2024). National heat-related illness and death surveillance. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/

World Bank. (2025). Urban resilience in India. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/d67ef885fc1c5b4ca43cf4465b3e7241-0310012025/original/Urban-Resilience-India.pdf

Zhao, L., et al. (2018). Building resilience to climate change: Pilot evaluation of the impact of India’s first Heat Action Plan on all-cause mortality. Science of the Total Environment, 657, 1344–1351. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6236972/

About the Contributor:

Neha Kumari is a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI and a first-year M.A. student in Defence and Strategic Studies at the Central University of Gujarat. She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Management from the same university. Her research interests include governance, public policy, national security, and India’s foreign policy. 

Acknowledgements:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to IMPRI for providing me the opportunity to prepare this article and for fostering a rigorous learning environment that connects research with public policy practice. 

Reviewer: CB Kavin Adithyam & Vishal Kumar

Publisher: Prisha Sachdeva

Disclaimer:

All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.