Considering the increasing frequency and severity of heat wave, experts have noted that it is necessary to strengthen communities that can withstand heat by improving housing design, enhancing ventilation, implementing heat-health warning systems, promoting urban greening and raising community awareness to lessen the increasing health risks associated with extreme heat exposure.
The Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI, observed the World Heat Action Day and Environment Day-2026 under the global theme “Indoor Heat.” This event brought together specialists from clinical medicine, public health, environmental health and meteorology to discuss evidence-based approaches to reduce heat-related illnesses and building community resilience.
Arun Kumar Aggarwal, head of the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health at the PGI, emphasized the need to document successful practices, based on evidence, to reduce public health risks through effective climate adaptation strategies. He further added that generating evidence relevant to local contexts and translating it into models that could be used on a larger scale was important for guiding preparedness and response efforts across health systems.
Keynote speaker and Director of the India Meteorological Department, Chandigarh, Surender Paul, emphasized the significance of weather forecasting and early warning systems for mitigating the negative effects of extreme heat. He highlighted that compared to the last decade, the frequency of heat wave days had increased.
The talk by Ravindra Khaiwal focussed on how we could build heat-resilient communities in India. He stressed that heat waves were often considered an outdoor problem, but indoor conditions could also stay dangerously hot for long periods, creating significant health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups that include children, older adults, pregnant women, individuals with ongoing health issues and households with low income. Hence, there is a need to focus on protecting the vulnerable population, as heatwave-related mortality is significantly high among them, by providing proper social and infrastructure support.
Discussing the clinical effects of heat exposure, Ashish Behera, assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the PGI, remarked that extreme heat could cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and could worsen conditions related to the cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney systems. He emphasized that heat-related illness often began with non-specific symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, dehydration and muscle cramps, but could rapidly develop into life-threatening complications.
Bijaya K Padhi, associate professor, mentioned that awareness, preparation and community engagement were essential for protecting at-risk populations from the ill-effects of heat.
The event ended with a call for ongoing research on climate change, rapid urban growth and changes in buildings, which are increasing the likelihood of heat-related health problems. Khaiwal, while suggesting solutions, urged promoting cool roofs, ventilation, heat-health action plans and urban greening, with strengthened inter-sectoral data integration and evidence-based initiatives to raise public awareness, reduce heat exposure and protect community health.
Experts have noted that it is necessary to strengthen communities that can withstand heat by improving housing design, enhancing ventilation, implementing heat-health warning systems, promoting urban greening and raising community awareness to lessen the increasing health risks associated with extreme heat exposure.
