Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and environment think tank International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST) launched the city’s first Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plan (IHCAP) to address escalating heat stress and cooling demand.

According to reports by ANI, the two-day programme, held on September 2, was developed in collaboration with the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC).

Reports said that the plan provides a detailed roadmap to tackle the combined challenges of rising temperatures, worsening humidity, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, and rapidly increasing demand for cooling.

Heat Stress And Cooling Demand Trends

The IHCAP report warns that Bhubaneswar could face a sevenfold rise in cooling electricity demand by 2050, with a normal hot day then expected to feel like today’s extreme heat.

It also highlights a sharp increase in household ownership of air conditioners, rising from six per cent to 15 per cent between 2021 and 2023, a 73 per cent annual growth rate. Air conditioners now account for about one-third of the city’s electricity use, climbing to nearly two-thirds during summer months.

According to the findings, heat stress in the capital now extends well into October, with the India Meteorological Department’s experimental “Feels Like” threshold suggesting that more than 230 days in 2024 would have qualified for heat alert warnings.

Proposed Interventions For Bhubaneswar

To counter these threats, the action plan recommends expanding urban greenery to meet the World Health Organisation’s benchmark of nine square metres per person, restoring water bodies, and adopting green road and traffic decongestion measures.

It also stresses the strict implementation of the Odisha Energy Conservation Building Codes for commercial and institutional structures above 500 square metres.

If implemented effectively, these interventions could reduce city surface temperatures by 0.5°C to 9.4°C and cut energy consumption for cooling by 44 to 67 per cent. iFOREST CEO Chandra Bhushan said the plan demonstrates how Bhubaneswar can break the cycle of rising temperatures, soaring cooling demand and increasing energy emissions. He added that the city’s approach could serve as a model for other Indian urban centres.

Project Manager for Cooling Singapore at ETH Centre, Ander Zozaya, said the collaboration with iFOREST has ensured access to robust data for climate models.

“In Singapore, we have made progress by bringing all government agencies together. In Bhubaneswar, the challenge now is to analyse, study and support the implementation of this integrated action plan,” he said.