India Maps Urban Heat Risks With AI & Satellites at Building Level
▼ Summary
– Zubaida and other waste-pickers in Delhi work under extreme heat without shade or protection, sorting recyclables by hand to earn a daily wage.
– Delhi faced a severe heat wave with temperatures exceeding 45°C (113°F) and real-feel temperatures reaching 54°C, posing fatal risks to outdoor workers.
– Despite heat warnings, informal workers like Zubaida continue laboring outdoors, reporting health issues, as skipping work means missing meals.
– India’s heat action plans (HAPs) lack effectiveness due to poor implementation, coordination, and insufficient data on heat-prone areas and vulnerable populations.
– Experts suggest using hyperlocal data (e.g., GIS) to improve HAPs by targeting high-risk areas and communities, but most plans currently fail to do so.
Delhi’s scorching summers push informal workers like Zubaida to their limits as they labor under relentless heat waves, exposing critical gaps in India’s urban heat resilience strategies. Each morning, she sorts through discarded plastics and glass by the roadside, her workday stretching through peak temperatures with no shelter or relief. With waste-segregation centers closed in East Delhi’s Seemapuri slum, Zubaida and others have little choice but to endure the sun’s punishing glare, a reality shared by street vendors, rickshaw pullers, and daily wage earners across the city.
When temperatures recently soared past 45°C (113°F), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert, warning of life-threatening heatstroke risks. The “real-feel” temperature, accounting for humidity, hit a staggering 54°C, turning streets into furnaces. While advisories urged residents to stay indoors, Delhi’s informal workforce kept working. “Dizziness, infections, exhaustion, we face it all,” Zubaida says. “But skipping work means skipping meals.”
India’s current Heat Action Plans (HAPs), designed to mitigate extreme heat impacts, often fall short due to broad-brush approaches. Though cities like Ahmedabad have seen success since adopting HAPs in 2013, a 2023 study revealed 95% of plans lack detailed heat mapping or vulnerability assessments. Without hyperlocal data, resources rarely reach those most at risk, a flaw experts say undermines their effectiveness.
The solution may lie in merging satellite imagery with ground-level data to create precise, building-level heat maps. Radhika Khosla, an Oxford researcher, emphasizes that heat risk hinges on three factors: hazard (temperature spikes), exposure (who bears the brunt), and vulnerability (socioeconomic and health disparities). Most HAPs overlook this intersection, leading to misallocated cooling centers or water stations. “Policies often miss the most vulnerable,” Khosla notes.
Innovative GIS tools could revolutionize heat resilience by identifying hotspots where laborers like Zubaida work unprotected. Tailored interventions, shaded rest areas, targeted health camps, or adjusted work hours, could save lives. But without funding and coordination, even the best data remains theoretical. For now, Delhi’s informal workers continue their daily grind, their survival a stark reminder of the urgent need for smarter, more equitable heat strategies.
(Source: Wired)
