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Urban Heat Mapping for Resilient City Planning in India: Leveraging Geospatial Data for Climate Adaptation

India’s rapid urbanization, coupled with the escalating impacts of climate change, has intensified the challenges cities face in managing extreme heat events. The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect—where urban areas experience higher temperatures than their rural surroundings—poses significant threats to public health, energy consumption, and urban sustainability. Addressing this multifaceted challenge necessitates the integration of accurate spatial data and advanced analytical tools to guide resilient urban planning.

Geospatial technologies have emerged as invaluable assets in this endeavor. By integrating satellite-based thermal remote sensing, real-time ground sensor networks, and sophisticated Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Indian cities can generate detailed urban heat maps. These maps not only identify heat hotspots but also enable planners to design targeted mitigation strategies, such as expanding green infrastructure and improving urban design. This blog explores how geospatial data supports urban heat mapping and resilient city planning in India, highlighting key initiatives, technologies, and challenges as of 2025.

The Urban Heat Island Effect: A Growing Concern

The UHI effect arises primarily from urban surfaces like asphalt, concrete, and rooftops absorbing and retaining heat, combined with limited vegetation cover. In Indian cities, this effect is exacerbated by rapid urban expansion, population growth, and climate change-induced heatwaves. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), urban heatwaves have increased in frequency and severity over the past decade, contributing to rising heat-related morbidity and mortality, especially among vulnerable groups such as the elderly and residents of informal settlements.

Geospatial Data: The Backbone of Urban Heat Mapping

Accurate urban heat mapping relies on spatially rich and timely data. Satellite thermal remote sensing serves as the primary source for generating Land Surface Temperature (LST) maps, which reveal the spatial distribution of heat across urban landscapes.

India leverages multiple satellite missions that provide thermal imagery critical for UHI analysis:

• Landsat 9: Launched on September 27, 2021, Landsat 9 is a joint mission by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It carries two instruments: the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2), which measure 11 wavelengths of light, including thermal infrared bands essential for assessing surface temperatures.

• EOS-06 (Oceansat-3): Launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 26, 2022, EOS-06 is equipped with instruments like the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM-3) and the Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM), providing valuable data for oceanographic studies and coastal monitoring.

These satellite datasets are integrated into GIS platforms to visualize and analyze the spatial patterns of urban heat relative to land use, population density, and urban morphology. Such integration enables decision-makers to pinpoint vulnerable zones and prioritize interventions.

Ground-Based Sensor Networks and IoT Integration

While satellites offer extensive coverage, their data are limited by temporal frequency—most satellites capture thermal data only during daytime overpasses, missing critical night-time temperature variations when heat stress can also be significant. To address this, Indian smart cities are deploying Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled sensor networks that continuously monitor temperature and humidity at street-level scales.

Cities like Ahmedabad, Pune, and Surat have incorporated these sensor networks into their urban monitoring systems, collecting real-time environmental data. This data, when layered over satellite-derived LST maps in GIS environments, offers a granular view of urban microclimates. The fusion of satellite and sensor data enhances the temporal and spatial resolution of heat mapping, providing a dynamic and comprehensive picture necessary for responsive urban heat management.

Policy and Planning: NDMA’s Heat Action Plan and AMRUT 2.0

India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has championed heat resilience through its Heat Action Plan (HAP) framework since 2013, setting the foundation for heatwave preparedness and response. The NDMA Heat Action Plan Portal aggregates geospatial heat vulnerability data to assist municipal and state authorities in mapping heat risk zones and guiding resource deployment during extreme heat events.

Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0, launched in 2021, several cities have begun integrating geospatial heat mapping into their master plans. Ahmedabad, a pioneer in heat action planning, has expanded the use of GIS-based heat vulnerability maps to strategically plan urban green infrastructure—such as parks, street trees, and water bodies—aimed at mitigating surface temperatures in heat hotspots.

Similarly, Nagpur has incorporated urban heat maps into its AMRUT 2.0 plans, using GIS layers that combine thermal data with demographic information to identify vulnerable populations, including informal settlement dwellers. These efforts support targeted greening and cooling interventions, optimizing the allocation of limited urban development resources.

NIUA’s Heat Stress Toolkit: Enabling Evidence-Based Decision Making

The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has developed a GIS-enabled Heat Stress Toolkit that assists city planners in identifying heat-prone areas and evaluating adaptive measures. This toolkit integrates multi-source spatial data, including satellite LST, meteorological records, and socio-economic indicators, to produce heat vulnerability maps.

The toolkit supports scenario analysis, enabling municipal authorities to simulate the impact of interventions such as tree planting, reflective roofing, and urban water bodies on urban temperatures. This evidence-based approach fosters data-driven decisions that enhance the effectiveness of urban heat mitigation efforts.

Persistent Challenges and Future Directions

Despite significant advances, urban heat mapping faces ongoing challenges in India:

• Night-time Thermal Data: Satellite sensors typically provide limited night-time data. While missions like NASA’s ECOSTRESS and some Sentinel satellites offer nocturnal thermal measurements, comprehensive night-time UHI mapping at city scales remains limited. Expanding sensor networks and developing new satellite missions are crucial for addressing this gap.
• Integration of Informal Settlements: Informal settlements often lack accurate geospatial representation yet suffer high heat exposure due to dense housing and minimal green space. Participatory GIS approaches involving community mapping and local stakeholder engagement are increasingly being promoted to integrate these vulnerable areas into heat risk assessments.
• Timely Data Updates: Urban landscapes evolve rapidly, requiring continuous updates of spatial data. Integrating multi-source data (satellite, sensors, demographic) into interoperable GIS platforms with real-time updating capabilities is critical for responsive heat risk management.

Emerging Technologies: Digital Twins and Open Data Platforms

Digital twin technology—real-time, virtual 3D models of urban environments—holds promise for simulating urban heat dynamics and testing mitigation scenarios. Pilot projects in Coimbatore and Bhopal (2024–2025) have begun integrating geospatial thermal data, urban morphology, and infrastructure datasets to create digital twins, offering urban planners powerful tools to optimize heat resilience interventions before physical implementation.

Additionally, open geospatial data platforms such as ISRO’s Bhuvan portal and NDMA’s online resources provide free access to spatial data, encouraging transparency, citizen engagement, and collaborative planning.

Conclusion

In the face of escalating urban heat challenges, geospatial technologies are central to India’s journey toward climate-resilient cities. Satellite thermal remote sensing, combined with real-time sensor data and advanced GIS analysis, equips planners with the detailed spatial intelligence necessary to design effective heat mitigation strategies. By incorporating these insights into urban master plans and heat action frameworks, Indian cities like Ahmedabad and Nagpur are leading the way in integrating climate resilience into urban development.

Ongoing innovation in geospatial tools, expanding sensor networks, and the adoption of digital twins promise to further enhance urban heat management in the coming years. Addressing remaining data gaps—particularly night-time temperature mapping and inclusion of informal settlements—will be critical to building truly inclusive, sustainable, and heat-resilient Indian cities.

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