Analysis of heat stress and heat wave in the four metropolitan cities of India in recent period

Abstract

Cities are becoming hotter day-by-day because heat is trapped near the earth's surface due to a decrease in green cover, rapid urbanization, energy-intensity activities, and concrete structures. The four major metropolitan cities of India, i.e. Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, have experienced heat waves and heat stress frequently during the summer season. This study analyses heat wave and heat stress patterns in these cities using 30 years of data from 1990 to 2019 during the summer season. We used daily maximum temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation datasets for the above mentioned period in this study. To understand the episode of a heat wave, we have used the 95th percentile method. Furthermore, we have also used Humidity Index (HD) to evaluate the degree of discomfort and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) to categorize the level of heat stress. The analysis indicates that the number of heat wave events in the Delhi region is 26.31%, 31.58% and 63.16% higher than Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai regions respectively. It is also seen that the risks of extreme heat stress and dangerous-heat stroke events in the Chennai region during heat wave periods are higher than that experienced in other metropolitan cities because of high temperature with higher values of relative humidity. The risk of extreme heat stress is less in Delhi because of lower relative humidity compared to other metropolitan cities although temperature is higher in this region. However, the risk of extreme heat stress is lower in Mumbai region because of relatively lower temperature than Chennai during summer season. The likelihood of experiencing great discomfort during heat wave periods in Kolkata city is higher than that experienced in other metropolitan cities in India, however, during non-heat wave periods the probability of extreme discomfort is higher in Chennai.

Keywords: Heat stress; Heat wave; Humidity index (HD); Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI).