CSE study finds three quarters of Delhi facing heat stress as green cover shrinks News Today

According to the latest report by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), a New Delhi-based research and advocacy organization, about three-quarters or 75.78 percent of the national capital’s land area remained heat-stressed for six or more years between 2015 and 2024. Most construction sites, markets and schools were located in areas with repeated extreme heat, the study found.

The messagetitled ‘Making Delhi Heat Resilient: A Plan Focusing on Vulnerable Groups’, said 98.72 percent of Delhi’s total area has crossed the heat stress threshold at least once in a decade.

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The report revealed how the extreme heat intensified as the city continued to lose its green cover. Delhi’s green cover declined from 25.36 percent in 2014 to 14.14 percent in 2024, while the footprint of water bodies decreased from 1.25 percent to 0.99 percent over the same period.

As a result, Delhi’s core region is cooling 3.8°C less than its suburban counterparts, causing continuous heat stress in its dense, concrete neighborhoods, according to the study.

At least 92 percent of construction projects are located in areas where land surface temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius at least once between 2015 and 2024, while 77 percent are in areas with recurring extreme heat, the company said.

About 84 percent of the 643 mapped markets, including large mandis, are located in recurrent heat-stressed areas, while 76 percent of the mapped informal settlements, home to nearly 1.32 million people, are located in heat-exposed locations.

The report, titled “Making Delhi Heat Resilient: A Plan to Target Vulnerable Groups”, said 98.72 percent of Delhi’s total land area has crossed the heat stress threshold at least once in a decade.

The report also found that 80 percent of the 1,066 schools mapped in the city are located in heat-stressed areas. It identified 35 wards, including Matiala, Kakraula, Narela and Chandni Chowk, as having “very high” to “high” cumulative vulnerability.

According to the report, 153 out of 272 wards in Delhi have more than 75 per cent of their area under repeated heat stress, while 82 wards have more than 90 per cent of their area under heat stress. Seventeen departments have their entire premises under heat stress.

The report said Delhi faces a deepening crisis due to rising temperatures, with “feeling” temperatures reaching as high as 52 degrees Celsius in 2025. It noted that 25 heat-related deaths were reported in the city in 2024 by the Union Ministry of Health and Welfare, while independent reports put the figure at more than 55.

He added that Delhi is moving towards a “new and warmer normal”, with increases in both annual average maximum and minimum temperatures observed over the past four decades.

Which areas of Delhi are permanently under heat stress?

The study found that industrial areas like Bawana, Mayapuri, Mundka, Anand Parbat and Mongolpuri have emerged as major hotspots of heat. Several residential areas were also found to have recorded ground surface temperatures ranging from 44 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.

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Areas identified as permanently heat stressed include the walled city and its extensions, Karol Bagh, ISBT Kashmir Gate and its surroundings, Connaught Place (inner circle), Uttam Nagar, Palam, Dabri, Najafgarh, Kanjhawala, Budh Vihar, Bawana and Narela.

Other heat-stressed localities include Samaypur Badli, Bhalswa, Jahangirpuri, Burari, Shahdara, Bhajanpura, Karawal Nagar, Ghazipur Industrial Area, Badarpur, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla Industrial Area, Tughlaqabad, Sangam Vihar, Mahipalpur, Aya Nagar, Bhikaji Pure, Aya Koti, Aya Koti, Aya Nagar, Aya Koti, Murakla, Sarka Kale Khan, Green Park, Greater Kailash, East of Kailash and Lajpat areas. Nagar, according to a report.

The report also identified newly built and redeveloped projects like Bharat Mandapam, East Kidwai Nagar residential complex, Safdarjung World Trade Center and Netaji Nagar as heat stressed.(Created by CSE based on USGS Earth Explorer (Landsat 8/9) and Census 2011 data)

The report also identified newly built and redeveloped projects like Bharat Mandapam, East Kidwai Nagar residential complex, Safdarjung World Trade Center and Netaji Nagar as heat stressed.

It said the surface temperatures of the country reached as high as 60.77 degrees Celsius during the summer months in places like the Indira Gandhi International Airport and areas with unsown agricultural land and barren stretches.

Lutyens’ Delhi under heat stress threshold

Some parts of the city, including Lutyens’ Delhi, Civil Lines and Delhi Cantonment, remained below the heat stress threshold largely due to extensive tree cover and shading on paved areas. The Yamuna also continues to provide some cooling relief, with land surface temperatures around it remaining close to 33 degrees Celsius, the report said.

“Delhi is in the grip of an escalating urban heat crisis,” the report said, warning that heat-related productivity losses could reach up to 4.5 percent of India’s GDP, or about $150-250 billion, by the end of this decade.

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For this study, CSE analyzed Landsat satellite data from 2015 to 2024 to identify areas where land surface temperatures repeatedly exceeded 45 degrees Celsius.

A threshold of 45°C Land Surface Temperature (LST) was considered: areas repeatedly exceeding this value for more than six years were identified as heat stressed.

The researchers also mapped children, the elderly, women, construction workers, street vendors, the homeless and residents of informal settlements and overlaid their locations with heat-stressed areas to identify the most vulnerable urban areas.

Delhi is in the grip of an escalating urban heat crisis.

The report called for a heat resilience strategy targeting vulnerable groups, along with measures such as thermally efficient roofs, public cooling centres, climate-responsive urban planning and the expansion of green spaces throughout the city.