The Gendered Dimension of Heatwaves: Why India Needs Gender-Responsive Heat Action Plans

As India grapples with increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, a critical gap has emerged in climate adaptation strategies: the gendered nature of heat vulnerability. While extreme temperatures affect all citizens, new research highlights that women, especially those residing in urban slums and working in the informal sector, bear a disproportionate burden of the heat crisis.

The vulnerability of women is rooted in a combination of biological, economic, and social factors. Physiologically, heat stress can have unique impacts on maternal health and reproductive well-being. Economically, a vast majority of women in Indian cities are employed in the informal sector—as street vendors, waste pickers, or construction workers—where they are exposed to direct sunlight for extended hours without access to cooling facilities or social security.

Socially, the 'double burden' of domestic labor further exacerbates the crisis. In urban slums, poorly ventilated housing acts as a heat trap. Women often spend significant time indoors cooking over heat-emitting stoves or outdoors fetching water, tasks that become grueling during heatwaves. Furthermore, the 'Urban Heat Island' effect is more pronounced in high-density, low-income settlements where many women live and work.

From a policy perspective, most existing Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in India are gender-neutral, failing to account for these specific vulnerabilities. To build true climate resilience, urban planning must become gender-responsive. This includes designing heat-resilient housing, providing gender-segregated public cooling spaces, and ensuring that early warning systems reach women in the informal economy. Integrating gender into disaster management is not just a matter of social equity but a necessity for effective public health outcomes.