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Urban India and Climate Change
India’s Urban Future is at a Crossroads
Context: As summer heat intensifies across India, major cities are facing mounting pressure from water shortages, rising electricity demand, and increasing climate-related stress.
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- Cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad have seen a spike in water tanker bookings, while power outages loom due to surging air-conditioner usage.
- These recurring urban challenges raise a critical question: Are Indian cities truly prepared for the dual threats of climate change and rapid urbanisation?
Climate Stress and Urban Inequality
- India’s cities are hubs of opportunity, contributing significantly to the economy.
- Yet, urbanisation brings with it congestion, pollution, and unequal access to resources — challenges that often disproportionately affect low-income populations.
- According to the 2025 report by the Sustainable Futures Collective, titled “Is India Ready for a Warming World?”, long-term planning for climate resilience in urban areas remains insufficient.
- The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, a growing concern frequently discussed in Parliament, further highlights the vulnerability of cities.
- These issues are deeply tied to India’s progress on Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG-11): making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable by 2030.
Do Existing Urban Indices Reflect Reality?
- While global frameworks for SDG-11 exist, India lacks a comprehensive city-level tool for tracking urban sustainability and resilience.
- NITI Aayog’s SDG Urban Index evaluates 56 cities using 77 indicators, but its SDG-11 component is limited to only four parameters: Swachh Survekshan rankings, road accident deaths, PMAY-U housing, and waste treatment capacity.
- Meanwhile, the Ease of Living Index covers 111 cities but lacks dedicated tracking of SDG-11 outcomes.
- Global indices like Mercer’s Quality of Living and the Economist’s Resilient Cities Index provide useful benchmarks but fail to capture the unique ground realities of Indian cities.
- This lack of localised assessment tools hinders evidence-based urban policymaking.
New Research: Four Indices to Bridge the SDG-11 Gap
- To address this gap, new research has introduced a set of four city-specific indices aligned with the four pillars of SDG-11: safety, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability.
- The study evaluated 10 major Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Surat — across a total of 58 indicators.
- These indicators were developed using United Nations-defined urban parameters and data from credible sources such as Census 2011, National Crime Records Bureau, India Meteorological Department, NFHS-5, PLFS, and Ola Mobility Institute.
- The research employed the Shannon Entropy Weighting Technique, a method from Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) models, to objectively assign weights to indicators.
Key Rankings and Insights
- Inclusivity Index: Ahmedabad ranked highest; Jaipur ranked lowest.
- Safety Index: Bengaluru emerged as the safest; Kolkata ranked lowest.
- Sustainability Index: Surat led in environmental performance; Kolkata lagged.
- Resilience Index: Chennai ranked first in climate resilience; Jaipur ranked last.
- Interestingly, cities marked as “front-runners” in NITI Aayog’s SDG rankings did not always perform well in these new indices — indicating a need to rethink and refine existing evaluation frameworks.
What These Rankings Reveal
- Inclusivity gaps show unequal access to housing, transportation, and jobs, especially for marginalised communities.
- Safety disparities highlight the need for stronger law enforcement and urban design that reduces crime and improves public safety.
- Environmental sustainability remains uneven, with many cities struggling in waste management, pollution control, and green infrastructure.
- Resilience planning is largely missing — a 2023 Janaagraha report found that only 16 cities have a sustainability plan, and just 17 have resilience strategies.
- These findings expose critical shortfalls in how Indian cities are preparing for climate challenges and delivering on SDG-11 commitments.
Way Forward
- India’s urban future demands urgent reforms in climate-responsive governance, data collection, and policy implementation.
- Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) must adopt city-level SDG-11 monitoring frameworks.
- Smart City Command and Control Centres should be leveraged to collect real-time data and guide decision-making.
- Furthermore, nearly a third of India’s urban population lives in poverty — yet policies still rely on outdated Census 2011 data.
- There is a critical need for a state-level Urban Poor Quality of Living Survey to ensure accurate, targeted policy interventions.
- Each Indian city has unique needs. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work.
- Instead, city-specific strategies, grounded in real-time data and local governance structures, are essential for building truly inclusive, safe, and resilient urban environments.
