India’s Heat Action Plan

As part of India’s INDC, the country has prioritized supporting adaptation by addressing health impacts associated with extreme heat events. As one example, the city of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat partnered with the Indian Institute of Health, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a coalition of other technical and community groups to prepare a heat action plan and early warning system for extreme heat events. The plan lays out key actions that address health issues related to extreme heat, and it can serve as a replicable model for other municipalities. The following are key actions and good practices associated with the plan, which are detailed in the case study.

• Strong local government leadership supported effective design and implementation of the heat action plan.
• Research on heat-related illnesses and deaths informed the design of the plan.
• Training hospital and health professionals and preparing health facilities (for example, with air conditioning and ice packs) enabled prevention and treatment of heat-related illnesses.
• Community engagement and workshops to share international experiences of heat-related health threats raised awareness of the issue and built support for the effort.
• The incidence of heat-related illnesses was reduced via dissemination of heat alerts through various media channels, improved local temperature monitoring, and development of an interagency emergency response approach that enabled quick action during extreme heat events.
• The effectiveness of activities was analyzed, which supported improvements to the plan and implementation of the actions over time.