Heat impact assessment framework for measuring and managing extreme heat in India

The Heat Impact Assessment (HIA) Framework as a strategic instrument to strengthen heat risk management in the country. The HIA adopts a multisectoral lens, recognising that extreme heat produces cascading stresses across systems and integrates data across infrastructure and urban services, economy and productivity, social vulnerability, and ecosystems and environment, enabling heat exposure to be translated into clearly understood local impacts and actionable priorities for authorities

This report makes a key argument: heat in India is no longer a seasonal crisis that can be addressed reactively; it must be managed as a chronic, systemic issue. The data and evidence presented in this research indicate that heat has become a systemic stressor in cities, affecting public health, infrastructure, productivity, and equity. The magnitude, rate, and persistence of heat-related effects make it impossible to address them reactively. The HIA framework offers India the opportunity to shift firmly from crisis management to risk governance, from disintegrated response to coordinated resilience, and from reactive planning to anticipatory protection.