Heat risk: Ahmedabad 2nd after Iraqi city, says Oxford study

Slug: Oxford Study

Ahmedabad: A recent study by researchers from the University of Oxford has placed Ahmedabad among the most vulnerable cities in terms of heat risk. According to the composite risk score devised by the researchers, Ahmedabad scored 0.79, compared with the highest score of 0.83 for Al Basrah in Iraq.

The study ‘Moving Beyond Exposure: A Globally Comparable Framework for Heat Risk Assessment in Cities’ by Nethmi Jayaratne Kariyawasam, Jesus Lizana, and Radhika Khosla was recently put online as a preprint for the journal ‘Sustainable Cities and Society’.

The researchers argued that a majority of global heat assessments rely on exposure-only indicators. “However, heat risk in cities extends beyond climatic extremes and is mediated by social vulnerabilities and infrastructural capacities that determine how populations experience and respond to heat,” the study abstract said.

It said, “Here, we map heat risk globally in cities with populations over one million using a harmonised composite index disaggregated into hazard exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity.”

Other cities on the list include Bhopal (0.75), Patna and Madurai (0.73), Jaipur (0.7), Bengaluru (0.69), Hyderabad and Lucknow (0.68), Kanpur (0.67), Pune and Kolkata (0.66), Chennai (0.64), and Mumbai (0.63).

The researchers said that vulnerability and coping capacity are characterised by economic capacity, demographic structure, and infrastructural factors. The results show that over 95% of the highest-risk cities are concentrated in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“In practice, many cities, such as Ahmedabad (India) and Karachi (Pakistan), are already implementing coordinated heat plan measures such as advanced heat warnings, public communication, hydration points and surge capacity in health services,” the study said.

It added, “Ahmedabad’s plan combines an early warning system, public awareness campaigns, health-system preparedness and targeted interventions such as cool roofs in low-income neighbourhoods and has been associated with substantial reductions in heat-related mortality.”

BOX

Composite risk scores

City | Score

Ahmedabad 0.79

Bhopal 0.75

Patna 0.73

Madurai 0.73

Jaipur 0.70

Bengaluru 0.69

Hyderabad 0.68

Lucknow 0.68

Kanpur 0.67

Pune 0.66

Kolkata 0.66

Chennai 0.64

Mumbai 0.63

Source: Oxford study