"Urban Flooding and Heat Disasters Expose India's Planning and Governance Gaps"
Urban Heat Island
phenomenon where city centres are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to dense construction and loss of vegetation.
Urban Disaster Management Authority (UDMA)
body constituted under Section 41A of the DM Act to prepare and implement urban disaster management plans in large cities.
India's cities face two recurring climate disasters: urban flooding during monsoon and extreme heat in summer. These are not purely natural events. They are shaped by how cities are built and governed. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 created the institutional framework for managing such risks. It established disaster management authorities at the national, state, and district levels. However, the Act originally did not address the specific vulnerabilities of large urban centres. Urban local bodies were expected to maintain City Disaster Management Plans, but enforcement was weak and capacity was limited.
The broader problem is one of unplanned urban growth. Indian cities have rapidly replaced soil, vegetation, and water bodies with concrete and asphalt. This process reduces the ground's ability to absorb rainwater and raises local temperatures. Research by the Indian Institute of Science on Bengaluru found that built-up land grew from about 8% in 1973 to nearly 74% in 2013, while vegetation fell from 68% to less than 15%. This transformation is not unique to Bengaluru. It reflects a national pattern of urban expansion that has outpaced planning capacity and regulatory enforcement.
The 2025 amendment to the Disaster Management Act marked a significant shift. It acknowledged that large cities need dedicated institutional mechanisms. It also recognised that heatwaves, long treated as a weather event rather than a notifiable disaster, require formal financing and response structures. These changes reflect a gradual move from reactive disaster response toward risk-reduction planning, though implementation remains uneven.
A natural hazard becomes a disaster when it meets a population that is exposed and lacks the capacity to cope. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines disaster risk as the interaction between a hazard and the conditions in which it occurs. In cities, those conditions are determined by planning decisions: where buildings are permitted, how drainage is designed, whether floodplains and lakes are protected, and how public services reach the most vulnerable.
Urban flooding occurs when rainwater cannot drain, spread, or seep into the ground fast enough. Natural drains get narrowed. Lakes and floodplains are built over. Large areas are covered with impermeable surfaces. The World Bank estimates that timely adaptation could prevent annual urban flood losses of about $5 billion by 2030 and $30 billion by 2070. These are avoidable losses, not inevitable ones. …
Which one of the following ancient towns is well-known for its elaborate system of water harvesting and management by building a series of dams and channelizing water into connected reservoirs?
Which of the following were included as notified natural calamities for the 2026–31 Finance Commission period, enabling states to use disaster response funds for relief and mitigation?
1.Heatwaves
2.Lightning
3.Drought
4.Fog
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
With reference to the urban heat island effect in Indian cities, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.The World Bank estimates that city centres in India can be 3 to 4 degrees Celsius warmer than surrounding areas.
2.The urban heat island effect is primarily caused by increased rainfall absorption in urban areas.
3.Loss of tree cover and dense construction both contribute to the urban heat island effect.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
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