Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan

This case study describes the development and implementation of the Heat Action Plan in Ahmedabad, India. Led by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in partnership with academic and environmental groups, the plan established the first comprehensive early warning system and heat preparedness strategy in South Asia to protect vulnerable populations from extreme heat.

• The May 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad, with peak temperatures reaching 46.8°C (116°F), resulted in 4,462 all-cause deaths, which included an excess of 1,344 deaths—a 43.1% increase over the reference period.
• Ahmedabad's Heat Action Plan is the first of its kind in South Asia to comprehensively address health threats from extreme heat. The 36-page master guide includes immediate and long-term strategies for coordinated government action, focusing initially on community outreach, a simple early warning system, and capacity building for health-care professionals.
• Implementation of the plan involved designating the city's Health Department as the lead agency to coordinate municipal activities, monitor temperature forecasts, and disseminate alerts. Outreach efforts included billboards, pamphlets in English and Gujarati, and rickshaw advertisements.
• A critical challenge in the project was the lack of existing data, as hospitals did not previously monitor heat-related illnesses and deaths, and extreme heat was not initially recognized as a reducible public health hazard.

APA

Shah, D. T., Mavalankar, D. D., Azhar, D. G. S., Jaiswal, A., & Connolly, M. (2014). Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ahmedebad_Inside_Story_final_web-res1.pdf

Chicago

Shah, Dr Tejas, Dr Dileep Mavalankar, Dr Gulrez Shah Azhar, Anjali Jaiswal, and Meredith Connolly. Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ahmedebad_Inside_Story_final_web-res1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shah |first1=Dr Tejas |last2=Mavalankar |first2=Dr Dileep |last3=Azhar |first3=Dr Gulrez Shah |last4=Jaiswal |first4=Anjali |last5=Connolly |first5=Meredith |title=Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ahmedebad_Inside_Story_final_web-res1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shah2014addressing, author = {Shah, Dr Tejas and Mavalankar, Dr Dileep and Azhar, Dr Gulrez Shah and Jaiswal, Anjali and Connolly, Meredith}, title = {{Addressing heat-related health risks in urban India: Ahmedabad’s Heat Action Plan}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ahmedebad_Inside_Story_final_web-res1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }