Indian cities face climate and urban challenges

Source: The post Indian cities face climate and urban challenges has been created, based on the article “India’s urban future is at a crossroads” published in “The Hindu” on 29 April 2025. Indian cities face climate and urban challenges.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 1- Society-urbanisation, their problems and their remedies

Content: As India’s summer worsens, cities are battling water shortages, rising electricity demand, and soaring temperatures. These recurring struggles raise urgent concerns about whether Indian cities are equipped to handle climate extremes, rapid urbanisation, and meet Sustainable Development Goal-11 (SDG-11) targets.

For detailed information on Urbanization in India- Significance & Challenges  read this article here

Challenges of Urbanisation and Climate Impact

1. Urban Growth and Its Consequences: Urbanisation fuels economic growth but also increases pollution, congestion, and environmental harm, affecting the poor the most.
2. Lack of Long-Term Climate Planning: The 2025 Sustainable Futures Collective report shows that Indian cities lack serious long-term strategies to tackle climate change and urban heat island effects.
3. Commitment to SDG-11: Despite India’s pledge to build inclusive and resilient cities by 2030, real-world challenges highlight the slow and uneven progress.

Deeper Insights and Urban Disparities

1. Inclusivity and Safety Gaps: Disparities in inclusivity show unequal access to opportunities. Differences in safety rankings highlight the need for stronger law enforcement in some cities.
2. Sustainability and Resilience Shortfalls: Environmental planning and disaster preparedness vary widely. The Annual Survey of Indian City Systems 2023 found that only 16 cities had a ‘city sustainability plan’ and 17 had ‘city resilience strategies.’

Shortcomings in Current Urban Indices

1. Limited Scope of Domestic Indices: NITI Aayog’s SDG Urban Index tracks only a few SDG-11 indicators like sanitation, housing, waste treatment, and road deaths. The Ease of Living Index also misses a full SDG-11 evaluation.
2. Gaps in Global Indices: International rankings like Mercer’s and the Resilient Cities Index overlook Indian ground realities and urban complexities.
3. Impact on Policymaking: The absence of a specific SDG-11 index leaves a gap, making it difficult for policymakers to identify which cities are truly inclusive, safe, and sustainable.

A New Framework for Measuring Urban Sustainability

1. Creation of Four Distinct Indices: Researchers created four indices for safety, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability, ranking 10 major Indian cities on specific indicators.
2. Methodology and Data Sources: They used nine safety, 19 inclusivity, and 15 resilience and sustainability indicators. Data came from sources like Census 2011, NCRB, IMD, RBI, and others. The Shannon Entropy Weighting technique offered an objective method to assign indicator weights.
3. Key Findings Across Cities

• Ahmedabad ranked first in inclusivity; Jaipur ranked lowest.
• Bengaluru emerged as the safest city; Kolkata was the least safe.
• Surat led in sustainability; Kolkata performed the worst.
• Chennai topped climate resilience; Jaipur ranked the lowest.

The Road Ahead for Indian Cities

1. Need for Better Tracking Mechanisms: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) must set up frameworks to track SDG-11 at the local level, following successful district models.
2. Leveraging Smart City Infrastructure: Integrated Command and Control Centres under the Smart Cities Mission must be used for real-time urban data collection and planning.
3. Addressing Urban Poverty: India still depends on outdated Census 2011 data. A periodic Urban Poor Quality of Living Survey is essential for accurate planning.
4. Importance of Localised Solutions: Each city needs data-driven, city-specific policies to deal with its unique problems and build a more equitable urban future.

Question for practice:

Discuss the key challenges and solutions for making Indian cities more resilient, inclusive, safe, and sustainable in the face of climate change and rapid urbanisation.