Heat exposure: Four Indian cities in worst 10

Study: Nation Contributed To 52% Of Global Increase

- Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar

India contributed to morethan half of the global in-crease in urban heat exposure since the 1980s, according to a study published this week.

The trend, concentrated in south Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, was a result of increase in urban population as well as rising temperatures, the study has stated.

Globally, urban exposure to extreme heat and humidity saw a threefold increase from 40 billion ‘person-days’ in 1983 to 119 billion persondays in 2016, researchers found in their analysis of highresolution data for 13,115 cities around the world. (‘Person-days’ refers to the number of extreme heat days a year multiplied by the exposed population.)

India contributed to 52% of the increase, with four cities — New Delhi (2), Kolkata (3), Mumbai (5), and Chennai (7)—in the top 10. Dhaka topped the list.