The Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan identifies rising temperatures as a significant climate hazard contributing to heat stress, especially among vulnerable populations.

Bengaluru, 15 July 2026: The Bengaluru Heat Collective, a platform initiated by 11 organisations to advance coordinated action on rising urban heat, was launched today in Bengaluru. The Collective brings together the city’s diverse and engaged ecosystem of citizens, academia, civil society, and practitioners to strengthen the city’s long-term heat resilience. The Bengaluru Heat Collective members include: ARTPARK, Bengaluru Sustainability Forum, C40 Cities, CSTEP, Hasiru Dala, HeatWatch, Jan Sahas, KHPT, NIMHANS, Socratus, and WRI India.

Bengaluru is growing fast and heating fast. In 2019, the city’s estimated population stood at nearly 10 million. Between 1991 and 2019, its population grew by 25%, while its built-up footprint expanded by 179% between 1985 and 2019, coupled with an accelerated decline in its natural assets. The formation of the Collective comes at a time when Bengaluru is experiencing a clear rise in heat stress. The city’s land surface temperature has risen by nearly 8°C over the past two decades with heat hotspots expanding beyond the city centre well into suburbs and peri-urban areas. The city has seen increasing incidences of high heat with recorded temperatures routinely breaching 35°C in the past decade. 

The urgency of coordinated action is evident in the current weather conditions. Even with the southwest monsoon active on the calendar, Bengaluru is experiencing summer-like heat in peak July. On 14 July 2026, the Bengaluru city observatory recorded a maximum of 33.6°C, the highest July temperature ever recorded in the city, surpassing the previous all-time record of 33.3°C set in 1914 and 1926, and a full 5.3°C above the July normal of 28.3°C (India Meteorological Department). 

In its initial phase, the Collective will focus on four priority areas: understanding heat and its spatial dimensions to inform policy and investment, enabling infrastructure interventions, strengthening relief and resilience measures for vulnerable communities, and advancing ward-level microplanning. These include measures such as heat-risk mapping, heat-health monitoring, strengthening health systems and community response early warning systems, cooling shelters, shade and hydration infrastructure, worker protections, climate-responsive buildings and blue-green infrastructure.

Shri Pommala Sunil Kumar IAS, Commissioner of Bengaluru’s North Corporation, said, “Bengaluru, long known for its pleasant weather, has been experiencing a gradual and consistent rise in heat over the past decades. With this Collective, the city has a unique opportunity to act early before heat becomes a full-blown urban crisis. Building long-term heat resilience will require coordinated action across health, labour, planning, water, energy, transport, disaster management and community systems. We have already planned several tangible interventions, including roof coating demonstrations on North City Corporation buildings. Of the ₹5 crore allocated for heat resilience by NIUA pilot, ₹1 crore is dedicated to protecting our most vulnerable populations through measures such as safety gear for thousands of outdoor informal workers.”

Sri Depinder Kapur, Head, Climate Centre for Cities, NIUA, said, "Bengaluru's participation in the Building Heat Resilient Cities Programme under AMRUT 2.0 marks several firsts. The city's work over the last five years on wastewater treatment and reuse is a strong example of system-wide climate adaptation and water stress mitigation. The heat resilience proposal submitted by Bengaluru North City Corporation brings a clear city cooling perspective, defining priority interventions that focus on vulnerable urban settlements and communities and strengthen heat-resilient public infrastructure. It has been developed through collaborative engagement with a coalition of city residents, city officials, and NGOs over the last four months."

Basavaraj Kabade, Chief Engineer, BSCC said, "I thank the seven Working Group organisations, Climate Action Cell and everyone involved in preparing the Ward Level Climate Action Plan for Begur. Through site studies, assessments and public consultation, we have identified a menu of 64 climate actions, now compiled into a report. But a plan alone does not translate into action on the ground; it needs budgeting. For the first time, BSCC has allocated ₹2 crore for phased implementation of the Begur Ward Climate Action Plan, covering projects such as heat proofing of buildings, developing blue-green schools, increasing groundwater recharge, and more. This is not a final budget, but a starting point to demonstrate what can be implemented."

Dr. Sanghamitra Savadatti, Lead – Health for the Urban Vulnerable, KHPT, said, “With rising urban sprawl, increased concretisation, and declining green and blue spaces, heat stress is emerging as a serious urban challenge. Bengaluru’s heat profile is unique, especially because it falls outside the disaster threshold and can remain invisible in public discourse. Addressing heat risks and its intersections with urban life, health and well-being, especially for the most vulnerable, is essential. This requires evidence-based planning and coordinated multi-sectoral action and commitment. The Bengaluru Heat Collective aspires to help shape this agenda for our city.”

The impacts of heat are not felt equally across the city. Informal workers, migrant workers, outdoor workers, waste workers, construction workers, street vendors, children, senior citizens, people with disabilities and residents of poorly ventilated or heat-trapping housing face disproportionate risks. The launch event also brought together voices from at-risk communities who shared their lived experiences of rising heat and its impact on their work, health and everyday life. 

The panel featured Ms. Usha Rani an ASHA worker, Ms. Indira, a waste picker, Ms. Pushpa, a domestic worker, and Mohammed Ibrahim, a construction worker. 
“The heat is getting worse every year, but our work cannot stop. We spend long hours under the sun collecting and sorting waste because this is how we earn our living. By the afternoon, we feel exhausted, dizzy, and dehydrated, yet we continue because missing a day's work means losing our income. We try to find shade whenever we can, but it is not always available. We need access to drinking water, places to rest, and safer working conditions. We keep our city clean, and we deserve to work with dignity, safety, and respect,” Ms. Indira said. 
 

About WRI India

WRI India, an independent knowledge organisation registered as India Resources Trust, provides objective information and practical proposals to foster environmentally sound and socially equitable development. Through research, analysis, and recommendations, WRI India puts ideas into action to build transformative solutions to protect the earth, promote livelihoods, and enhance human well-being. Know more: wri-india.org
 

ARTPARK
AI and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) (registered as I-Hub for Robotics and Autonomous Systems Innovation Foundation) is a not-for-profit Section 8 translational research organization at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. ARTPARK bridges research, innovation, and deployment, translating deep-tech solutions into real-world impact through collaborations with government, industry, startups, and academia. Its Climate and Health initiatives develop AI-based forecasting and risk communication systems to strengthen public health preparedness and resilience.
 

Bengaluru Sustainability Forum
The Bengaluru Sustainability Forum is a multi-institutional collaborative initiative that reflect's on the complex and interconnected challenges of urban and peri-urban sustainability, with a focus on Bengaluru. It aims to explore issues in the local context through interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations involving the city’s expertise and different stakeholders, including the public, researchers, professionals, social change advocates and start-ups. The diverse engagements facilitated include retreats, workshops, panel discussions, webinars, film festivals, exhibitions, podcasts and a Small Grants Programme.
 

C40 Cities                   
C40 is a global network of nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive.

CSTEP
CSTEP is a not-for-profit policy think tank with a mission to bridge the gap between science, technology, and policy. By working closely with governments, institutions, and communities, CSTEP tackles critical challenges such as clean energy, sustainable development, and digital transformation. Work at CSTEP is rooted in the belief that evidence-based policies, powered by advanced research and data, can lead to a better, more inclusive future for all.

Hasiru Dala
Hasiru Dala is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing social justice for waste pickers through direct interventions in identity rights, education, healthcare, housing, pensions, skill development, and employment access. We advocate for a people-centric, decentralised approach to sustainable solid waste management, engaging with local governments, citizens, volunteers, and businesses committed to sustainability and the circular economy.

Our mission is to recognise the contributions of waste pickers and informal waste collectors, ensuring their inclusion in local waste management systems to facilitate stable income opportunities. We envision an inclusive society for waste pickers and informal workers, free from discrimination based on age, class, caste, religion, occupation, gender, or sexual orientation.

Since our inception in 2010, we have expanded our reach across two states, 18 cities, 38 taluks, and 64 villages in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, impacting over 25,000 waste pickers and their families.

HeatWatch
HeatWatch is a climate adaption nonprofit working at the intersection of economic, social justice, urban planning and public health. We build training and awareness, evidence, data and campaigns, and advocate for policies that protect India’s most heat‑exposed and marginalised workers. In a country becoming dangerously hot, HeatWatch pushes institutions to treat extreme heat as a public health emergency and act before more lives and livelihoods are lost. Know more: heatwatch.in

Jan Sahas
Jan Sahas, established in 2000, is a grassroots not for profit organization dedicated to promoting the development and well being of socially excluded communities, with a special focus on informal and migrant workers. One of its key initiatives is the Migrant Resilience Collaborative (MRC), a grassroots-led collaboration working across 11 states in India to strengthen social security, enhance worker protection, and build climate resilience among informal and migrant workers affected by the impacts of climate change.

KHPT
KHPT is a registered non-profit organization that has, for over two decades, worked alongside India's most vulnerable communities to improve their health and wellbeing. While health is our focus, we see it in its full context, shaped by poverty, gender, social norms, urbanisation, climate, and the systems that influence people's lives.

NIMHANS
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru is a premier, multidisciplinary Institute of National Importance governed by an Act of Parliament. Tracing its roots back to 1847, it functions under the joint auspices of the Union and State Governments.

Socratus
Socratus Collective Wisdom Corporation seeks to midwife collective wisdom to solve wicked problems. Our vision is to create a flourishing India in the era of climate change. We believe that in order to tackle climate change, we urgently need to build bottom up narratives for climate change, create spaces to surface collective wisdom and equip people with skills to respond to wicked problems, at large. We do this by bringing together a diverse set of people, tools and skill sets to make climate action both deliberate and visceral.