Extreme heat in Delhi
A capital of extreme pre-monsoon heat, street trade and falling groundwater.
Heat type. Dry heat before the monsoon, then humid heat during it.
Heat action plan Heat plan in force
Delhi launched its 2025 Heat Action Plan in April 2025, with graded heat alerts, cooling shelters, 3,000 water points and heatstroke units in hospitals. Experts have recommended legal backing and dedicated funds to strengthen it.
Vicious cycles the evidence ties to Delhi
| Cycle | Why here | One action that breaks it |
|---|---|---|
| The heat credit squeeze | Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in 2024, 80% saw fewer customers in heatwaves and 49% lost income. | Heat-smart lending |
| The dying-green loop | New Delhi is among the cities where every urban tree species studied is at risk from rising heat. | Keep city trees alive |
| The groundwater loop | North-west India (Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana) lost 109 km³ of groundwater in six years, mainly to irrigation. | Smart irrigation and groundwater rules |
| The invisible-deaths loop | India confirmed 185 heatstroke deaths against 48,385 suspected cases in 2024, up to 28 July. | Count every heat death |
Who heat hits hardest here
- Workers in heat-exposed jobs
- People in informal settlements
A worked plan to learn from
Ahmedabad’s heat action plan (Ahmedabad, India, 2013 onwards)
Already at work here
- National Disaster Management Authority, India
- India Meteorological Department and IITM Pune
- National Centre for Disease Control, India
- Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
- SEEDS
- HeatWatch India
Listing does not imply partnership, affiliation or endorsement.
Four questions for Delhi’s heat plan
- Is it funded, with a named owner?
- Does it assess who is most vulnerable, and where they live?
- Does it have legal backing, so departments are required to act?
- Does it count indoor and night-time heat, not only daytime highs?
Official warnings: India Meteorological Department · Today’s heat and the week ahead: beattheheat.asia/#city-delhi
Sources
- Business Today, 2025. businesstoday.in/amp/india/story/imd-predicts-heatwave-conditions-in-april-delhi-govt-launches-action-plan-472890-2025-04-21
- Citizen Matters. citizenmatters.in/city-buzz-five-things-you-must-know-about-the-delhi-heat-action-plan
- Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024. greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors
- Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022. vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf
- Rodell, Velicogna and Famiglietti, Nature, 2009. nature.com/articles/nature08238
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 2024. rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf
- Centre for Policy Research, 2023. cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action