New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Several municipal wards across the national capital are steadily heating up with mean land surface temperatures climbing over the past 10 years, an analysis of satellite data by an independent organisation has showed.
The Envirocatalysts, a research and advisory think tank, has revealed that from rapidly built-up zones to shrinking green areas, the city’s changing landscape is leaving behind pockets of intense, hyperlocal heat: raising fresh concerns about how Delhi will cope with rising temperatures in the years ahead.
Experts at the think tank explained that the air temperature is usually lower that the LST, which refers to land surface temperature or the temperature of the exposed surface of a particular location.
“The important point of this analysis is that it shows what locations in Delhi might need local heat adaptation plans and granular policy changes to adapt to the increasing heat,” Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at Envirocatalysts, said.
He told PTI that the increase in LST can be accounted for with several factors, including change in land use.
“Some of the reasons can be that a particular area that had a certain number of parks, water bodies or even small vegetation cover, have been replaced by urbanised or constructed area. That could contribute to increased hyperlocal heat in an area,” he said, adding that even use of construction materials that absorb more heat like metal or use of more concrete, granite could also be relevant factors.
According to the data provided by the organisation, for the month of April, Bhati in south Delhi has shown the highest mean increase in LST at 6.1 degrees Celsius, from 2015 to 2025.
This was followed by Madanpur Kadhar east and Badarpur with a mean increase of 5.9 degrees, Gautampuri with a mean increase of 5.7 degrees and Meethapur, Deoli, Sangam Vihar-B and Saidulajaib with an increase of 5.4 degrees Celsius each.
“Delhi Mean Land Surface Temperature shows an increase of 3.5 degree Celsius for April month between 2015 and 2025, while the UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index) increased by 3.4 for the same period,” an analysis by Envirocatalysts said.
UTCI is an internationally recognised measure used to assess how hot or cold conditions feel to the human body. Unlike simple temperature readings, it takes into account multiple factors such as air temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation to reflect the actual thermal stress experienced by people.
In practical terms, UTCI helps indicate levels of heat stress, ranging from no thermal stress to extreme heat stress, making it a useful tool for urban planning, public health advisories, and heat adaptation strategies, according to experts.
Meanwhile, two wards showed a decrease in the LST for April over the last 10 years. Northwest Delhi’s Mubarikpur and Nithari showed decrease of 0.6 degrees and 0.4 degrees respectively.
Rani Khera and Sabarpur were among the wards in Delhi who showed the lowest mean LST change, with the difference standing at 0.6 degrees Celsius and 0.8 degrees Celsius respectively.
Dahiya explained, “While we discuss pollution with more seriousness now, we should not avoid working on increasing heat stress measures. This data can be used at the government and policymaking levels to make responsible changes and ensure that greenery is protected and increased at places showing highest increase in LST. Planned urbanisation can ensure we develop liveable cities.” He added, “Localised heat adaptation plans can also be drawn up. Multiple shelters can be built for people to get respite, use of as much as possible natural materials can be considered in construction and even painting roofs with materials having higher reflection could be effective.” Envirocatalysts said it has also created a dashboard through which the public can check live data of the changes in LST in their region.
As the organisation works on analysing data at a granular level, Dahiya said, this data could prove extremely important in tackling heat problems in a city like Delhi where urbanisation “stands as the ultimate truth”. PTI AHD PRK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.