India’s urban climate crisis is a confluence of environmental degradation, infrastructural inadequacies, and governance fragmentation. According to the World Bank (2024), nearly 70% of India’s 2050 urban infrastructure is yet to be built, offering both a challenge and an opportunity.
Challenges in India’s Urban Climate Crisis:
- Urban Metabolic Crisis: Cities act as living organisms, consuming energy and emitting waste.For example, Bengaluru has 1,000+ encroached stormwater drains while Kolkata lost 44% of its water bodies in 3 decades showing signs of urban ecological rupture.
- Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI): Heat-retaining materials and reduced greenery increase city temperatures. For example, Delhi’s temperature is projected to touch 47.3°C in May 2024 while heatwaves may rise 5.7 times in 15 years.
- Urban Flooding: Poor drainage and surface sealing raise flood risks. Forexample, with 50% of urban India living in informal settlements, over 1,500 annual flood-related deaths are reported.
- Structural Inequalities: Unequal access to green spaces and healthcare leads to climate injustice.For example, Cities like Chennai and Lucknow record over 20% senior citizen mortality during heat events.
- Governance Failures: Top-down approaches often ignore local knowledge and participation. For example, only 10 out of 126 cities under the Climate Smart Cities Mission have conducted proper risk assessments.
Measures for Building Resilient Cities:
- Right to a Resilient City: Resilience must be seen as a citizen right, not a technical add-on.For instance, Investment gap of $2.4 trillion needed by 2050 vs $120.5 billion should be filled.
- Systemic Policy Reforms: Integrate climate resilience into urban infrastructure (housing, transport, water) and adopt nature-based solutions like “Sponge Cities” to manage floods naturally.
- Inclusive Planning: Support bottom-up models like Ahmedabad’s Mahila Housing Trust, which promotes cool roofs and microfinance. For example, Chennai’s Climate Action Plan offers a replicable model, focusing on both adaptation and low-carbon growth.
- New Urban Indices Framework: A new framework with indices on safety, inclusivity, sustainability, and resilience needs to be developed.
- Urban Finance Innovation: Promote municipal bonds, PPP models, and climate-smart investments. Use Smart City Command Centres for real-time disaster and infrastructure planning.
Conclusion:
The Sendai Framework and SDG-11 offer the template that India must localise. Urban transformation must be citizen-centric, climate-smart, and equity-driven turning the crisis into an opportunity for sustainable urbanisation.
‘+1’ Value addition:
- Under the Climate Smart Cities Mission, only 10/126 cities conducted proper risk assessments.
- Half of India’s urban population lives in informal settlements.
- Case studies of Indian cities:
- The Heat Action Plan: Ahmedabad was the first South Asian city to create a Heat Action Plan.
- Waste Management: Indore has consistently been ranked as one of India’s cleanest cities under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan due to its excellent waste management practices.
- Comprehensive Climate Action Plan: Chennai developed a detailed Climate Action Plan based on a thorough risk assessment.
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