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SEE RECORDING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMPEeqfbz10&t=3046s
Start Network and the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) jointly organised a roundtable on “Extreme Heat as a Global and Local Humanitarian Crisis” on Friday, July 18, 2025, from 04:00 PM to 05:00 PM IST.
The session recognised that extreme heat is no longer just a seasonal discomfort—it has become the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis affecting millions, especially among the urban poor and informal communities of workers, migrants, and others. As temperatures rose and heatwaves became more frequent and intense, participants highlighted the urgent need for inclusive, anticipatory, and community-driven humanitarian action.
The roundtable brought together experts, practitioners, and local voices to discuss how to better prepare for and respond to extreme heat. Together, they explored early warning systems, risk-informed planning, and equitable solutions that place the most vulnerable at the centre of climate resilience.
As climate change intensified, extreme heat emerged as one of the most urgent and overlooked humanitarian challenges of our time. Recognising the growing threat to vulnerable populations—particularly in urban and informal settings—participants discussed how extreme heat should be addressed as a humanitarian crisis. The session examined strategies for anticipatory action, inclusive early warning systems, and community-centred resilience, offering a platform to rethink traditional humanitarian responses in the context of rising global temperatures.
The event also featured the launch of a special issue of Southasiadisasters.net focused on “Heat as a Humanitarian Crisis: What Local Organisations Are Doing,” which presented cutting-edge insights, field experiences, and policy recommendations from across the region for system-wide use.
🎯 Key Objectives:
Recognised Extreme Heat as a Humanitarian Crisis: The roundtable reframed extreme heat as a growing humanitarian emergency requiring urgent, targeted, and sustained response measures.
Promoted Anticipatory Action and Early Warning Systems: Discussions explored effective, locally tailored early warning systems and anticipatory strategies to protect lives and livelihoods before extreme heat strikes.
Highlighted Risks to Vulnerable and Informal Communities: The disproportionate impact of extreme heat on informal workers, women, children, and the urban poor was emphasised, with calls for inclusive solutions.
🎙 Speakers:
