Recurrent heat waves, already a concern in rapidly growing and urbanizing South Asia, will very likely worsen in a warming world. Coordinated adaptation efforts can reduce heat’s adverse health impacts, however. To address this concern in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India), a coalition has been formed to develop an evidence-based heat preparedness plan and early warning system. This paper, Development and Implementation of South Asia’s First Heat-Health Action Plan in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India), describes the initial steps in the plan’s development and implementation. Evidence accumulation included extensive literature review, analysis of local temperature and mortality data, surveys with heat-vulnerable populations, focus groups with health care professionals, and expert consultation. The findings and recommendations were encapsulated in policy briefs for key government agencies, health care professionals, outdoor workers, and slum communities, and synthesized in the heat preparedness plan. A 7-day probabilistic weather forecast was also developed and is used to trigger the plan in advance of dangerous heat waves. The pilot plan was implemented in 2013, and public outreach was done through training workshops, hoardings/billboards, pamphlets, and print advertisements.

The study is part of the CDKN-funded project, Climate change: addressing heat-health vulnerability in rapidly urbanising regions of Western India, which seeks to address heat-related vulnerability in Ahmedabad, India.

For further reading on Ahmedabad’s heat action plan, see below:

• Heat Action Plan 2013: Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan 2013: Guide to extreme heat planning in Ahmedabad, India
• Project homepage: Climate change: addressing heat-health vulnerability in rapidly urbanising regions of Western India
• For Ahmedabad’s officials: Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Ahmedabad’s Government Officials
• For health professionals in Ahmedabad: Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Health Professionals in Ahmedabad
• For Ahmedabad’s outdoor workers: Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations to Prepare Outdoor Workers in Ahmedabad
• For Ahmedabad’s slum communities: Rising Temperatures, Deadly Threat: Recommendations for Slum Communities in Ahmedabad
• Survey on household vulnerability: A Cross-Sectional, Randomized Cluster Sample Survey of Household Vulnerability to Extreme Heat among Slum Dwellers in Ahmedabad, India
• Study on mortality of 2010 heat wave: Heat-Related Mortality in India: Excess All-Cause Mortality Associated with the 2010 Ahmedabad Heat Wave