Urban heat stress in focus: Centre promotes green infrastructure, cool roofs and climate-resilient cities
New Delhi: The Centre has intensified efforts to combat the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect through climate-resilient urban planning, green infrastructure and scientific heat-mitigation measures, with a pilot programme launched in 12 cities under AMRUT 2.0.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) informed Parliament that while urban planning is primarily the responsibility of states and urban local bodies, the Centre is supporting them through policy guidelines, financial assistance and technical interventions to reduce rising urban temperatures.
According to the government, Heat Action Plans (HAPs) have been prepared by 23 states, 195 districts and 64 cities, based on the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) 2019 guidelines for preventing and managing heatwaves. The NDMA has also issued an advisory to protect street vendors and other informal workers during extreme heat by promoting shaded vending zones, hydration facilities, cooling centres, flexible working hours and timely heat alerts.
The Centre said Delhi’s revised State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC 2.0) identifies increasing heatwaves as a major climate risk, with summer temperatures projected to rise by 1.5°C to 2.1°C by the middle of the century. The plan proposes measures including cool roofs, cooling corridors, expanded urban green spaces, restoration of wetlands and water bodies, improved drainage systems and stronger heat-health surveillance.
The government added that the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) aims to reduce cooling demand, improve energy efficiency and promote sustainable cooling technologies to strengthen climate resilience.
Under AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0, the Centre has approved 4,171 park projects, of which 3,458 parks have already been developed. It has also approved 2,960 waterbody projects, completed 346 green mobility projects covering 473 km of pedestrian and cycling tracks, and installed 99 lakh LED streetlights, resulting in annual savings of 665 crore kWh of electricity and a reduction of 46 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
In addition, 7.65 lakh saplings have been planted under the AMRUT MITRA – Women for Trees initiative during 2025-26 to increase urban green cover and reduce heat stress.
As part of the “Building Heat Resilient Cities” pilot under AMRUT 2.0, scientific assessments are being carried out in Bengaluru, Bhopal, Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Gwalior, Gurugram, Guwahati, Jodhpur, Ludhiana, Nashik, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam to identify heat-vulnerable areas and recommend city-specific measures such as urban greening, water-sensitive planning and passive cooling.
The information was provided by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
