Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials

The document outlines a framework for Ahmedabad to mitigate the deadly effects of extreme heat, which saw temperatures reach 46.8°C (116°F) during a May 2010 heat wave. It identifies a wide network of stakeholders across central, state, and municipal governments and recommends the creation of a Heat-Health Nodal Office to coordinate communication and response. Key proposed actions include installing additional weather gauges, implementing passive cooling like white china mosaic roofs, and expanding urban green cover. The brief emphasizes the need for targeted outreach to vulnerable populations, such as slum residents and outdoor workers, and suggests integrating heat warnings into existing disease surveillance systems.

• Ahmedabad experienced a historic heat wave in May 2010 where temperatures reached 46.8°C (116°F), resulting in a substantial increase in estimated daily mortality rates.
• The Meteorological Centre in Ahmedabad currently declares a heat wave if the daily maximum temperature exceeds 40°C (104°F) and is 5°C to 6°C above normal, or if the forecast maximum is higher than 45°C (113°F) regardless of the normal maximum.

APA

Mavalankar, D., Azhar, G. S., Sarma, A., Rajiva, A., Thube, N., Dholakia, H., Hess, J., Van Tran, K., Sheffield, P., Jaiswal, A., Knowlton, K., Khosla, R., Connolly, M., Deol, B., Casey-Lefkowitz, S., & Gill, G. (2013). Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/india-heat-government-officials-IB.pdf

Chicago

Mavalankar, Dileep, Gulrez Shah Azhar, Amruta Sarma, Ajit Rajiva, Nilesh Thube, Hem Dholakia, Jeremy Hess, et al. Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/india-heat-government-officials-IB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mavalankar |first1=Dileep |last2=Azhar |first2=Gulrez Shah |last3=Sarma |first3=Amruta |last4=Rajiva |first4=Ajit |last5=Thube |first5=Nilesh |last6=Dholakia |first6=Hem |last7=Hess |first7=Jeremy |last8=Van Tran |first8=Kathy |last9=Sheffield |first9=Perry |display-authors=etal |title=Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=March 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/india-heat-government-officials-IB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mavalankar2013rising, author = {Mavalankar, Dileep and Azhar, Gulrez Shah and Sarma, Amruta and Rajiva, Ajit and Thube, Nilesh and Dholakia, Hem and Hess, Jeremy and Van Tran, Kathy and Sheffield, Perry and Jaiswal, Anjali and Knowlton, Kim and Khosla, Radhika and Connolly, Meredith and Deol, Bhaskar and Casey-Lefkowitz, Susan and Gill, Grace}, title = {{Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/india-heat-government-officials-IB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }