Lack of data on urban heat makes it difficult for Indian businesses to adapt: Experts

As the winter gives way to spring, parts of India, especially urban areas, are already facing spikes in day time temperatures. Extreme urban heat is now a major problem across the subcontinent, and it is now affecting economic sectors as well.

During a roundtable ‘Urban Heat in India: Economic and Public Health Impacts’ hosted by World Trade Centre and Climate Trends, experts pointed out that the lack of data on heat is making it difficult for key economic sectors and their supply chains to manage urban heat risks. 

Also, experts said that banks and investors are studying heat risks and preparing to tweak policies and processes to manage what is emerging as one of the biggest risks facing the Indian economy.

Facing such a pressing and potentially devastating phenomenon, there is an immediate need for localised solutions for managing these urban heat risks across sectors like energy, MSMEs, finance, textile, FMCG and insurance. 

Heat proofing

For these sectors to adapt, they first have to identify which aspects of their business are hit hardest by heat, and accordingly take steps to prevent or contain it. Otherwise, the consequences can be quite debilitating.

“The GDP of India will go down by 2.5% if rising heat is not curtailed. Urban city planning needs to be looked at from a different perspective. We should know how many buildings and multistories are needed. We have utilised everything in the city,” said In Vijay Kalantari, Chairman, World Trade Center, Mumbai.

For a diversified, FMCG conglomerate like ITC, which works across the supply chain, the challenge is to assess the risk these companies can face in future. The next logical step would be to create a conducive environment for workers across the supply chain, from farm to factories. This is where data on heat would be most useful. He highlighted the lack of data for risk assessment and future planning. 

“ITC has identified key locations where heat is always an issue but the heat stress will increase multifold and impact both the operations and labour. Only coarse data is available publicly. In ITC, we know the risk now in factories, warehouses and offices. So we are building a controlled environment through in-house capacity building and utilising traditional techniques,” said Ankit Gupta, general manager at ITC.

Improved city planning

The first line of defence can be constructed through improved city planning, according to experts. In fact, an entire overhaul is required.

The most immediate planning overhaul is required at city planning level. “Nearly 60% districts of the country are facing high to very high risk due to extreme heat that comprises nearly 70% of the total population of the country. Another dangerous trend we are looking at is the increasing number of warm nights which is greater than the rise in the hot days. Relative humidity is also very important which changes the way we look at the heat in terms of actual temperature and feel-like temperatures. There is a scarcity of knowledge of solutions to deal with rising heat. We need to dig deeper and look for cost effective solutions,” said Vishwas Chitale, fellow at the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Sectorally, the labour-heavy textile industry is exposed the most to extreme urban heat, across the supply chain. “High labour density raises fire and safety risks, and extreme heat directly affects worker safety on the shop floor. Women workers are disproportionately impacted, with consequences that can carry over to the next generation. This is why stronger compliance and workplace standards are not optional anymore,” said Manish Daga, founder CEO and president, Cotton FPO Association.