Jodhpur heat action plan 2023

Jodhpur’s Heat Action Plan (HAP) builds on the foundation of extensive research, collaboration, and stakeholder engagement to strengthen the city’s resilience against extreme temperatures. Anchored in a robust Risk Assessment (RA), the plan prioritizes an enhanced focus on the needs of particularly vulnerable groups by characterizing spatial patterns in heat-sensitive populations, environmental risks, and community assets.

Scientific evidence plays a central role in shaping the plan, ensuring that interventions are grounded in a clear understanding of how populations across different regions are affected by heat. The RA assigns a risk score for each ward in the city based on three key dimensions: local heat exposure, residents’ physical sensitivity to heat, and adaptive capacity — including access to cooling resources such as urban cooling centres, parks, and water distribution nodes.

The strength of the RA approach lies in its flexibility to integrate diverse data sources, spanning individual biophysical characteristics to population-level demographic, health, economic, and environmental information. This comprehensive analysis forms the basis of Jodhpur’s Heat Action Plan, providing municipal leaders with spatially detailed insights to identify heat exposure risks and prioritize high-risk areas for targeted, equitable interventions.

Through this evidence-based approach, the Heat Action Plan aims to protect the most vulnerable, promote inclusivity, and guide the city toward a more resilient and heat-prepared future.