New Delhi: About 76 per cent of Delhi’s area remained heat-stressed for six or more years between 2015 and 2024, with a majority of construction sites, marketplaces and schools located in areas experiencing recurring extreme heat, according to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The report, titled “Making Delhi Heat-Resilient: A Roadmap with the Focus on Vulnerable Groups”, said that 98.72 per cent of Delhi’s total area crossed the heat-stress threshold at least once during the decade.
According to the study, 92 per cent of construction projects are located in areas where land surface temperatures crossed the 45 degrees Celsius threshold at least once between 2015 and 2024, while 77 per cent are in areas witnessing recurring extreme heat.
About 84 per cent of the 643 mapped marketplaces, including major mandis, are situated in areas experiencing recurrent heat stress, while 76 per cent of mapped informal settlements housing nearly 1.32 million people are located in heat-stressed localities, it said.
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The report also found that 80 per cent 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 of Delhi’s 272 wards have more than 75 per cent of their area exposed to recurring heat stress, while 82 wards have more than 90 per cent of their area under heat stress. Seventeen wards have their entire area under heat stress.
The report said Delhi faces a deepening crisis from rising temperatures, with “feels-like” 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 Family Welfare, while independent reports put the number at more than 55.
It added that Delhi is shifting towards a “new and warmer normal”, with increases observed in both annual average maximum and minimum temperatures over the past four decades.
Delhi’s ability to cool down at night has reduced by 9 per cent, the report said, adding that the city’s core cools 3.8 degrees Celsius less than its peri-urban counterparts, causing heat stress to be retained round the clock in dense, concrete-heavy neighbourhoods.
Areas identified as persistently heat-stressed include the walled city and its extensions, Karol Bagh, Kashmere Gate ISBT and its surroundings, Connaught Place (inner circle), Uttam Nagar, Palam, Dabri, Najafgarh, Kanjhawala, Budh Vihar, Bawana and Narela.
Other heat-stressed locations 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 Cama Place, AIIMS, RK Puram, Kotla Mubarakpur, Sarai Kale Khan, parts of Green Park, Greater Kailash, East of Kailash and Lajpat Nagar, according to the report.
The study found that industrial areas such as Bawana, Mayapuri, Mundka, Anand Parbat and Mongolpuri have emerged as major heat hotspots. Several residential neighbourhoods were also found to be recording land surface temperatures ranging from 44 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius.
The report also identified newly built and redeveloped projects such as Bharat Mandapam, East Kidwai Nagar housing complex, the World Trade Centre in Safdarjung and Netaji Nagar as heat-stressed.
It said land surface temperatures reached as high as 60.77 degrees Celsius during summer months in locations such as the Indira Gandhi International Airport and in areas with unsown agricultural land and barren stretches.
According to the report, Delhi’s green cover declined from 25.36 per cent in 2014 to 14.14 per cent in 2024, while the footprint of water bodies reduced from 1.25 per cent to 0.99 per cent during the same period.
The report said around 35 per cent of the city’s existing green and blue areas are themselves heat-stressed, highlighting the need to improve the quality of green spaces in addition to increasing their extent.
At the same time, 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 over paved surfaces. 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 amount to up to 4.5 per cent of India’s GDP, or approximately USD 150-250 billion, by the end of this decade.
For the study, CSE analysed Landsat satellite data from 2015 to 2024 to identify areas where land surface temperatures repeatedly exceeded 45 degrees Celsius.
Researchers also mapped children, elderly people, women, construction workers, street vendors, homeless people and residents of informal settlements and overlaid their locations with heat-stressed areas to identify the city’s most vulnerable neighbourhoods.
The report called for a heat resilience strategy focused on vulnerable groups, along with measures such as thermally efficient roofs, public cooling centres, climate-responsive urban planning and expansion of green cover across the city.
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