Indoor heat crisis needs urgent urban upgrades

Chandigarh: Extreme heatwave days in northern India have quadrupled over the last decade, meteorological data shows, prompting urgent calls from public health experts to address the hidden, deadly surge of indoor heat exposure.

Speaking at a joint World Heat Action Day and Environment Day forum at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), India Meteorological Department’s Chandigarh director Surender Paul revealed the shifting scale of the climate threat.

In response to the accelerating risks, Paul said the meteorological department is expanding its early warning systems, utilising the SACHET and MAUSAM mobile applications to broadcast real-time risk mitigation data directly to the public.

While heatwaves are traditionally viewed as an outdoor hazard, PGIMER public health specialist Professor Ravindra Khaiwal warned that indoor environments often trap dangerous levels of heat for prolonged periods.

“Indoor conditions can stay dangerously hot, creating significant health risks,” Khaiwal said. “Heatwave mortality is significantly high among vulnerable groups, and we must focus on providing proper social and infrastructure support.”

The physiological toll of these rising temperatures can escalate with deceptive speed. Dr Ashish Behera, from PGIMER’s internal medicine department, said: “Heat-related illnesses often begin with vague, easily overlooked symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, and muscle cramps.”

Without intervention, these symptoms rapidly deteriorate into severe dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or acute organ failure.

“Clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion during extreme heat events,” Behera said. “Prioritizing rapid cooling, aggressive fluid replacement, and early intervention is critical to preventing fatal outcomes.”

PGIMER’s community medicine department head, prof Arun Kumar Aggarwal, emphasised that combatting the crisis requires health systems to generate localized data and scale it into actionable models.

To future-proof communities against rapid urban growth and architectural heat traps, the expert panel advocated for a coordinated strategy combining infrastructure upgrades and cross-sector policy

Dr Bijaya K Padhi concluded that long-term protection for at-risk populations relied on sustained community engagement and multi-sectoral collaboration to mitigate both indoor and outdoor exposure.