Al Basrah Tops Global List of Cities Most Vulnerable to Extreme Heat; Several Indian Cities Among Highest-Risk Areas – Indian PSU

A new study by researchers at the University of Oxford has identified Al Basrah in Iraq as the world’s most vulnerable city to extreme heat, underscoring the growing threat posed by climate change and rapid urbanization.

Published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society, the study assessed 205 cities with populations exceeding one million, using a comprehensive framework that evaluated hazard exposure, socio-economic vulnerability, and coping capacity. The findings reveal that more than 95 percent of the world’s highest-risk cities are located in South and Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

India emerged as one of the countries with the largest concentration of high-risk cities. Ahmedabad ranked second globally, followed by Nagpur, Madurai, Bhopal, Patna, Jaipur, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai among the cities identified as facing significant heat-related risks.

The study found that heat risk is not determined by temperature alone. Factors such as population vulnerability, access to cooling infrastructure, electricity resilience, healthcare preparedness, tree cover and economic capacity significantly influence a city’s ability to cope with extreme heat events.

According to lead author Nethmi Jayaratne Kariyawasam, a DPhil researcher at Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, urban heat risk emerges through multiple pathways. “It isn’t just exposure to hot temperatures that matters for risk. Our study highlights the importance of multi-faceted global heat risk assessments, which reveal the diverse pathways through which urban heat risk emerges,” she said.

The research comes at a critical time as climate scientists warn that a strong El Niño event is likely to develop, potentially pushing global temperatures to record levels over the next two years. Combined with long-term global warming, which has already increased average global temperatures by around 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels, 2027 could become one of the hottest years ever recorded.

The report notes that extreme heat is the deadliest form of weather-related disaster, causing approximately 500,000 deaths annually worldwide. Researchers estimate that more than one-third of heat-related deaths can now be attributed to climate change.

Major international business centres and tourist destinations, including Cairo, Bangkok, Hanoi and Jaipur, also feature among the top 50 most heat-vulnerable cities. While some highly exposed cities such as Bangkok rank lower in overall risk due to stronger coping capacity, others with moderate heat exposure still face severe risks because of socio-economic challenges and limited infrastructure.

The study highlights encouraging examples of urban adaptation. Cities such as Ahmedabad in India and Karachi in Pakistan have introduced heat action plans and other protective measures. In contrast, cities like Al Basrah in Iraq, Kano in Nigeria and Bamako in Mali continue to face significant adaptation gaps.

Researchers stress that reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains essential to limiting future warming. At the same time, cities can strengthen resilience through expanded urban tree cover, heat-health warning systems, resilient electricity networks, passive cooling technologies and improved urban planning.

Professor Radhika Khosla of the University of Oxford said effective heat adaptation requires a balanced approach. While air conditioning can provide immediate relief, over-reliance on energy-intensive cooling risks further increasing emissions and urban heat. She advocated greater adoption of passive cooling measures, fans and energy-efficient technologies to protect vulnerable populations.

The study concludes that future urban heat strategies must move beyond temperature-focused assessments and address the broader social, economic and infrastructural factors that determine how severely communities are affected by extreme heat.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy