Heat Wave Puts All 50 of World's Hottest Cities in India at End of April

At the end of April every one of the world's 50 hottest cities was located in India, a global weather-tracking anomaly reported by air-quality monitoring company AQI. As an early-season heat wave affected the country, average peak temperatures in the most affected cities reached around 112 degrees Fahrenheit on April 27.

In Banda, the city that recorded the highest temperatures, the low for that day was 94.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures have decreased slightly since late April, though many areas are still seeing daily peaks near or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Forecasters have said additional periods of extreme heat are expected in May and June, particularly as the El Niño weather pattern affects the country.

India regularly experiences high temperatures, but research indicates that extreme heat events are projected to become more frequent and intense in much of the country.

The heat is creating simultaneous health, labor and financial problems, according to a white paper from Harvard University's Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. More than 1.4 billion people live in India, which has the world's largest population.

Just 8 percent of households have access to air conditioning, with most residents relying on shade or reflective roofs for cooling. Roughly three-fourths of the workforce is employed in heat-exposed sectors such as agriculture and construction. As much as 90 percent of the labor force consists of informal or gig workers, who often lack contracts that provide basic protections.

The Salata Institute paper describes heat as a systems-wide issue connected to health, housing, labor, infrastructure and finance. "Heat is a systems-wide issue. … It’s related to health, it’s related to housing, related to labor, infrastructure and finance," paper co-author Kartikeya Bhatotia said.

One estimate cited in reporting on the paper put heat wave deaths in India above 17,000 between 2000 and 2020. Government officials continue to work on measuring the full extent of heat-related mortality.

Parametric insurance offers preset payments to outdoor workers when temperatures reach defined thresholds, aiming to maintain income and reduce health risks. The researchers noted that such insurance risks being viewed as a complete solution and can be difficult to calibrate because heat-health impacts vary by factors including age.

India has developed heat action plans in major cities that include early warning systems, emergency assistance and infrastructure adjustments. The paper states that the broad scope of these plans can become a limitation. Without integration into government operations, the plans risk being sidelined by competing administrative priorities.

Increasing access to air conditioning presents a separate issue. The late-April heat wave increased electricity demand, partly from greater air conditioning use. With supplies of liquefied natural gas and petroleum gas limited, the country increased coal-fired power generation.

More than half of India's installed power capacity comes from non-fossil-fuel sources, but coal remains the largest single electricity producer.