Characteristics of Households' Vulnerability to Extreme Heat: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study from India.

High ambient temperature is a key public health problem, as it is linked to high heat-related morbidity and mortality. We intended to recognize the characteristics connected to heat vulnerability and the coping practices among Indian urbanites of Angul and Kolkata. In 2020, a cross-sectional design was applied to 500 households (HHs) each in Angul and Kolkata. Information was gathered on various characteristics including sociodemographics, household, exposure, sensitivity, and coping practices regarding heat and summer heat illness history, and these characteristics led to the computation of a heat vulnerability index (HVI). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used with HVI as the outcome variable to identify the determinants of high vulnerability to heat. The results show that some common and some different factors are responsible for determining the heat vulnerability of a household across different cities. For Angul, the factors that influence vulnerability are a greater number of rooms in houses, the use of cooling methods such as air conditioning, having comorbid conditions, the gender of the household head, and distance from nearby a primary health centre (PHC). For Kolkata, the factors are unemployment, income, the number of rooms, sleeping patterns, avoidance of nonvegetarian food, sources of water, comorbidities, and distance from a PHC. The study shows that every city has a different set of variables that influences vulnerability, and each factor should be considered in design plans to mitigate vulnerability to extreme heat.

A Heat Vulnerability Index: Spatial Patterns of Exposure, Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity for Urbanites of Four Cities of India.

Extreme heat and heat waves have been established as disasters which can lead to a great loss of life. Several studies over the years, both within and outside of India, have shown how extreme heat events lead to an overall increase in mortality. However, the impact of extreme heat, similar to other disasters, depends upon the vulnerability of the population. This study aims to assess the extreme heat vulnerability of the population of four cities with different characteristics across India. This cross-sectional study included 500 households from each city across the urban localities (both slum and non-slum) of Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, Karimnagar in Telangana, Kolkata in West Bengal and Angul in Odisha. Twenty-one indicators were used to construct a household vulnerability index to understand the vulnerability of the cities. The results have shown that the majority of the households fell under moderate to high vulnerability level across all the cities. Angul and Kolkata were found to be more highly vulnerable as compared to Ongole and Karimnagar. Further analysis also revealed that household vulnerability is more significantly related to adaptive capacity than sensitivity and exposure. Heat Vulnerability Index can help in identifying the vulnerable population and scaling up adaptive practices.