India Leads Global Heat Vulnerability Ranking in Oxford University Study

Key facts

• An Oxford University study of 205 cities with populations exceeding one million found that India has the highest number of cities in the world's 50 most heat-vulnerable list, with 14 cities.
• Nigeria and Pakistan follow India in the ranking with five and four cities respectively in the top 50.
• The study, titled “Moving beyond exposure: a globally comparable framework for heat risk assessment in cities”, assesses heat risk based on three factors: hazard exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity.
• Among Indian cities, Ahmedabad ranks second globally, followed by Madurai (7th), Bhopal (15th), and Kanpur (20th).
• Maharashtra has the maximum number of Indian cities in the top 50, including Nagpur (4th), Pune (23rd), and Mumbai (46th).
• Tamil Nadu is represented by Chennai and Madurai, while Uttar Pradesh is represented by Kanpur and Lucknow.
• Other Indian cities listed in the top 50 are Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Patna (Bihar), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Kolkata (West Bengal).
• The study attributes current heatwave conditions in several Indian cities to El Niño, a climatic phase where trade winds weaken and push warm water toward the eastern Pacific.