Urgency of Urban Heat Adaptation, Issue No. 220, May 2025

Message from AIDMI

Dear Reader!

Cities across South Asia face an urgent crisis: extreme urban heat. The latest issue of Southasiadisasters.net, titled “Urgency of Urban Heat Adaptation,” offers leading research, field experiences, and policy innovations from across the region to better tackle this growing threat.

From Nature-Based Solutions and cool roofing to heat action plans and early warning systems, this issue highlights practical, scalable, and inclusive strategies to protect vulnerable populations to build heat-resilient cities.

Featuring contributions from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and beyond, the issue explores how governments, communities, and institutions are responding to heat risks through collaborative planning, innovative technologies, public awareness campaigns, and evidence-based policy implementation.

We invite you to subscribe [https://aidmi.org/signup/] to stay informed about cutting-edge disaster mitigation, climate resilience strategies, and AIDMI’s work across South Asia. Join AIDMI’s dynamic learning network through roundtables, knowledge co-creation, and practical case studies that shape policy and action on the ground. And you are invited to join AIDMI in this longest learning effort in South Asia.

Sincerely,

Mihir R. Bhatt

In This Issue:

1. Passive Cooling for Extreme Heat Adaptation and Mitigation

   Minni Shastry, UNEP, India

2. Urban Heat Islands: Strategies for Mitigating the Effects in India

   Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India

3. शहरी तप्त द्वीप: भारत में प्रभावों को कम करने की रणनीतियां

4. UNDRR Agenda for Cool Cities

   Sanjaya Bhatia, Head of Office Incheon, UNDRR, Republic of Korea

5. What Can Indian Cities Learn from Action in 2025 from a New Study on Residential Heat and Energy Burdens in Miami?

   Vishal Pathak, AIDMI, India

6. Strengthening Community Resilience: A Heatwave Early Warning and Early Action System for Nepal Amidst Urban Heat Islands

   Dharam Raj Uprety, Thematic Lead: Climate and Resilience, Practical Action, Nepal

7. Urban Heat Adaptation: Areas for Investments and Funding

   Owen Gow, Deputy Director, Extreme Heat Initiative, Atlantic Council's Climate Resilience Center, Washington, DC

8. Urban Heat Adaptation in Bangladesh

   Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Senior Environmental & Social Safeguard Specialist, Dhaka, Bangladesh

9. Leveraging Historical Disaster Data to Enhance Anticipatory Action and Crisis Responses on Extreme Heat in India

   Akash Yadav, AIDMI, India

10. Urban Heat Adaptation: Agenda for Action in India Dr. Nipra Ajamani and Dr. Prasoon Singh, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India

11. Urban Heat Island: Strategies for Mitigating the Effects in India

    Aniket Sawargaonkar, M.Sc., Disaster Management, TISS, India

12. The Urgent Need for Urban Heat Adaptation in India

    Shyamji, Master’s in Disaster Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India

13. Urgently Integrating GESI Methodology into India’s Urban Heat Action Plans

    AIDMI Team, India

14. Heatwave in Mali: Impact on Elderly Mortality in Bamako

    Dr. Hippolyte Traoré, Public Health Researcher, National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Mali

15. Heatwave Action Plan - Adaptation and Mitigation

    Dr. Shashi Ram, Former Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

16. Urgency of Urban Heat Adaptation in South Asia: Lessons from Bangladesh

    Michael Slingsby, Urban Poverty and Climate Change Adviser, South and South East Asia