SEE RECORDING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvqGj0Vn-Xc&t=16s

The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) organised a roundtable on “Coastal Disasters with a Focus on Extreme Heat: Perspectives from South Asia” on Thursday, August 7, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM IST.

Coastal communities across South Asia had been confronting a dangerous and accelerating convergence of risks: rising sea levels, intensifying cyclones, and unprecedented extreme heat. Once considered distinct threats, coastal disasters and heatwaves were increasingly interacting—amplifying vulnerability, degrading ecosystems, and overwhelming local capacities, causing more and more losses and damage. From Bangladesh’s saline-intruded deltas to India’s heat-trapping coastal cities, the impacts were immediate and unequal, hitting hardest those least responsible for climate change.

The roundtable marked the official launch of the special issue of Southasiadisasters.net on “Coastal Disasters with a Focus on Extreme Heat: Perspectives from South Asia.” Co-edited by Muhammad Taher and Mihir R. Bhatt, the issue brought together voices from academia, humanitarian practice, youth networks, and local leadership to understand and address this emerging compound crisis. The roundtable created a platform to reflect on these contributions, share new evidence, and co-develop a way forward to tame extreme heat in coastal communities.

🎯 Key Objectives:

1. Identified and shared actionable solutions to integrate extreme heat risks into coastal disaster planning, early warning systems, and local adaptation strategies.

2. Fostered and furthered cross-sector collaboration among researchers, humanitarian actors, youth leaders, and policymakers to strengthen coastal resilience under rising temperatures.

3. Promoted and provoked inclusive and gender-responsive approaches that prioritised the needs and leadership of women, youth, and marginalised coastal populations in heat adaptation efforts.

📢 Participants explored how rising coastal temperatures were reshaping disaster risks—and co-created inclusive, community-led responses to ensure no one was left behind on the coasts of South Asia.

🎙 Speakers:

• Muhammad Taher, Coastal Resilience Expert, Bangladesh
• Ms. Ishrat Shamim, President, Centre for Women and Children Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Dr. M. Krishnaveni, Director, Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, Chennai, India
• Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das, Founder and Director, Maritime Research Center, Maharashtra, India
• Mihir R. Bhatt, Director, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
• Vishal Pathak, AIDMI, India
• Spandan Pandya, Physics Student, Ashoka University, India

See Report

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