Overview
- Early June 2026 CSE report maps land‑surface temperatures from 2015–2024 and finds about 75–76% of Delhi’s area breached a 45°C surface threshold repeatedly for six or more years.
- The study shows green cover fell from roughly 25% in 2014 to 14% in 2024 and waterbody extent also shrank, which has reduced nocturnal cooling and left dense built areas several degrees hotter than peri‑urban zones.
- Construction sites, marketplaces, schools and large informal settlements are concentrated in heat‑stressed zones, leaving about half of Delhi’s residents highly vulnerable and most outdoor workers without effective protections.
- CSE and experts say current heat action plans focus on warnings but lack resilience measures and recommend declaring heat a disaster to unlock funds, plus workplace rules, cooling centres, cool roofs and targeted finance or insurance for informal workers.
- Independent analyses warn of large health and economic costs — including billions of lost labour hours nationally and projected productivity losses if cities do not scale urban greening, design reforms and social protections — a pattern other fast‑growing Indian cities are likely to face.