Andhra Pradesh tops the heat risk index in India, according to a new assessment by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), even though this year’s summer has been comparatively moderate. According to the report “How Extreme Heat is Impacting India: Assessing District-level Heat Risk,” all of AP’s districts are categorized as high or very high risk, with 38% categorized as very high and 62% as high. Kerala, Maharashtra, and Goa share the highest ranking in this regard, with all districts at 100% danger. 57% of Indian districts, home to 76% of the country’s population, are at high to very high risk of heat, highlighting the problem of rising temperatures nationwide.

Heatwave Impacts and Vulnerable Populations

Andhra Pradesh tops heat risk index in India, with around 1,000 heatwave days documented between 1969 and 2019—each of which was associated with at least one fatality. The state’s susceptibility to extreme heat is made worse by the confluence of high temperatures, socioeconomic difficulties, and health concerns, according to the CEEW assessment. A sizable section of the AP population is exposed to heat stress since they work outside, mostly in agriculture. Heat extremes have increased significantly over the last four decades, with severe heat waves occurring in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2024. The population’s capacity to recover from daytime heat has also been strained because, during the past ten years, extremely warm nights have climbed more quickly than the hot days.

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Rising Night Temperatures and Regional Trends

When compared to the 1982–2011 baseline, the diurnal temperature range (DTR) in AP has declined, especially in the past ten years, with 70% of districts reporting five more “very warm” nights during the summer. Due to this tendency, the body cannot cool down at night, which is partially caused by urban heat islands in places like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati. This increases the risk of cardiovascular death as well as vector-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria. With a surge of more than 15 extremely hot days and warm nights per summer, even colder Himalayan places like Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are not immune, endangering delicate ecosystems. The necessity for immediate action was underlined by CEEW CEO Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, who stated: “We are entering an era of intense, prolonged heat, rising humidity, and dangerously warm nights.” City-level heat action plans need to be revised, emergency measures and long-term resilience must be balanced, and funding for sustainable cooling systems needs to be obtained.

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