Date: 9-10 June, 2022 Languages: English Location: Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Organised by: UNEP, National Centre for Disease Control Government of India, National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health, Cool Coalition
Climate change has already hit India hard, causing huge economic, health and social losses in recent years. Indian cities are particularly at risk from climate change and extreme heat, as rising temperatures are exacerbated by urban heat island effects and inequitable access to cooling. If left unchecked, the rising heat could expose up to 200 million people in India to deadly heat waves by the 2030s. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of a faster warming trend and finds that unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced immediately, rapidly and on a large scale, limiting warming to nearly 1.5°C or even 2°C may be out of reach, leading us to heat extremes that more often reach critical health thresholds.
In the framework of World Environment Day, UNEP is joining hands with the National Centre for Disease Control Government of India, the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health and the Cool Coalition to deliver a workshop to increase the capacity of Indian state health officials to take action on extreme heat at multiple levels, prioritizing efficient and climate-smart cooling as a critical component of health spending in response to rising heat. This two-day event will consist of a field visit to Ahmedabad Municipality on the first day, to showcase the implementation of heat action plans for mitigation, awareness and heat preparedness. The second day will consist of various sessions with experts and speakers from UNEP, NPCCHH and NCDC to share the latest learnings as well as best practices to foster action.
Agenda
