Infra, roads raising night temps in cities by 3-4 degrees, Delhi vulnerable to floods: Report

NEW DELHI: Night-time temperatures in major Indian cities exceed those of surrounding rural areas by 3-4 degree celsius round the year, primarily because of structures, roads and other infrastructure, a new World Bank report has revealed.

It has specified that while Lucknow experiences 5 degree celsius more during night-time, in case of Chennai and Surat it's 3-4 degree celsius higher.

The report titled 'Towards Resilient and Prosperous Cities in India' released on Tuesday found that intense heat waves and urban heat island effects are causing temperature rise in city centers and has projected that heat hazards will increase significantly in the coming decades, with the magnitude of the increase depending on the global emissions scenario.

The report covered 24 Indian cities, with a special focus on Chennai, Indore, New Delhi, Lucknow, Surat and Thiruvananthapuram.

The report has also found how the risk of pluvial flooding (surface water floods due to heavy rains) is estimated to increase by 73-100% in the next 50 years.

Among cities, Delhi has the maximum built up area exposed to pluvial floods.

"Under continuing urbanisation and climate impacts and without any remedial actions, annual losses from pluvial flooding are expected to be $5 billion by 2030, and between $14 to $30 billion by 2070," the report said.

It said that under a high global emission scenario, residents of densely built neighbourhoods in Chennai, Lucknow, Surat will experience between 30% and 50% more extremely hot days and nights by 2050 than at present.