Southasiadisasters.net, Issue No. 226 | November 2025

उष्णलाटांकडून शीतलतेकडे: भारतातील वातावरणीय बदल उपायांसाठी महाराष्ट्राचे नेतृत्व

Co-editors: Sujata Saunik and Mihir R. Bhatt

As one of India’s most heat-exposed states, Maharashtra is at the frontline of rising temperatures, urban heat islands, and climate-linked livelihood risks. This special issue documents how the state is responding—through science-based, locally led, and governance-backed cooling solutions across cities, coasts, and rural districts.

The issue features 17 valuable contributions from practitioners, researchers, and institutions working across Maharashtra’s heat resilience landscape. These include:

• An introduction on “Extreme Heat and Everyday Resilience”, framing 2025 as a turning point for Maharashtra’s heat governance.
• Articles on NDMA–MSDMA collaboration, the Maharashtra State Cooling Action Roadmap, and the state’s modernised SEOC, landslide plan, and mitigation works.
• Evidence and case studies on cool roofs in slums, biomimicry and Wada architecture, ocean-informed coastal cooling, smart ventilation, and cotton farmers’ resilience to extreme heat.
• A focus on partners in cooling – TISS, YASHADA, MSDMA and civil society – showing how institutions, research, and communities are working together to make Maharashtra “heat-ready, heat-resilient, and heat-smart.”
• A “Way Ahead” roadmap outlining five priority actions for a just and inclusive “cooling transition” in Maharashtra. 

This issue will be of interest to state and district officials, urban planners, health and DRR practitioners, researchers, and community organisations across India and South Asia who are seeking practical pathways from emergency heat response to long-term, equity-centred cooling.

In This Issue:

1. Extreme Heat and Everyday Resilience: Maharashtra’s Turning Point in 2025 by Sujata Saunik, Former Chief Secretary, Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Maharashtra, India; and Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
2. Public Action for a Cooler Maharashtra: NDMA and Maharashtra Government Projects on Extreme Heat by AIDMI, India
3. The Green Project: Mitigating the Climate Risk Impacts in Maharashtra by Anand Ghodke, WASH-CCES Officer, Yusuf Kabir, WASH-CCES & DRR Specialist, UNICEF Maharashtra, and Nilesh Mankar, Dy Mechanical Engineer, GSDA, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
4. उष्णलाटांकडून शीतलतेकडे वतावरणीय बदल उपायांसाठी महाराष्ट्राचे नेतृत्व by AIDMI, India
5. शहरी जोखिम शासन पर पुनर्विचार by Mihir R. Bhatt, AIDMI, India
6. Biomimicry for Thermal Comfort: Rethinking Urban Architecture for Extreme Heat in Maharashtra by Ninad Shroff, Architect and Researcher, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
7. Cooling Maharashtra: A 2025 Plan for Survival and Leadership by Ali Al Mokdad, Strategic Senior Leader Specialising in Global Impact Operations, Governance, and Innovative Programming, Denmark
8. Strengthening Heat Governance: From Emergency Response to Long-Term Cooling Strategies by Aditya Valiathan Pillai, Visiting Fellow, Adaptation and Resilience, Sustainable Futures Collaborative (SFC), New Delhi, India
9. Smart Cooling for Hot Summers: Everyday Climate-Smart Living by Dr. Milind Mujumdar, Retired Senior Scientist, CCCR–IITM, Pune, Maharashtra, India
10. Mitigating Extreme Heat in Maharashtra (2025): Evaluating Wada Architecture as a Sustainable Cooling Measure by Aniket Sawargaonkar, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India
11. Keeping Maharashtra’s Slums Cool: What the Evidence Says by Akash Yadav, AIDMI, India
12. Ocean-Informed Cooling: MSP and UDA Interventions for Addressing Extreme Heatwaves by J Cathrine, Maritime Research Center, Pune, India
13. Extreme Heat-related Cooling Measures in Maharashtra, India: Building Resilience in 2025 by Vishal Pathak, AIDMI, India
14. Maharashtra’s Leadership in Disaster Management: Building Systems, Science, and Resilience by AIDMI, India
15. Investing in Biodiversity and Nature in India: Building Climate Resilience and Securing Development by AIDMI, India
16. Partners in Cooling Maharashtra: Institutions, Governance, and Communities Against Extreme Heat by AIDMI, India
17. Cooling the Future: Maharashtra’s Roadmap for Inclusive Climate Resilience by Sujata Saunik and Mihir R. Bhatt, India