Flowers dying of heat waves, 

health withering of dryness 

the plants will dry up if not saved 

from the cruel heat of the sun…. 

The poignant lines from a poem (translated into English from Nepalese) recited by a young schoolgirl Sudeeksha during the Launch Event of the Heatwave Crowdfunding Campaign for the city of Dhangadhi in Nepal encapsulate the wide-ranging socio-economic and health challenges posed by extreme heat and heatwaves. 

Extreme heat has become a growing global crisis.  

High temperatures and extended heatwaves are no longer some isolated or freak weather events. In fact, hotter days and nights, and prolonged heat spells, are becoming more of a regular feature across countries around the world. Increasing exposure to extreme heat is taking a toll on human health, adversely affecting all living beings including animals and plants while disrupting the functioning of urban services and community socio-economic infrastructure.     

Year after year, a greater number of days of extreme heat and prolonged heatwaves are becoming the norm -- with the past 10 consecutive years (2015-2024) being the warmest 10 years on record and 2024 being the hottest one ever on our planet! 

In the UK, 01 May 2025 has been recorded as the hottest start to May  while heat alerts and advisories had to be issued for many cities across India already in the first week of April! 

And cities and urban communities are bearing the brunt – particularly the vulnerable segments of society. 

With nearly 70% of the global population to live in urban areas by 2050, exposure to heat-related sicknesses with higher mortality amongst the vulnerable sections of society will amplify. Meanwhile, the combined effects of the urban heat island and heatwaves make urban areas even hotter. Compared to rural and natural areas, urban temperatures are typically 0.5 to 4°C higher during the day and 1 to 2.5°C higher at night. 

One of the most common and fatal ill-effects of exposure to extreme heat is heatstroke and dehydration induced sicknesses. Heatstroke, or commonly called sunstroke, is a severe heat illness caused by extended exposure to high temperatures, leading to dangerously elevated body temperatures. It most commonly affects outdoor workers young children, elderly, persons with disabilities, persons with chronic illnesses, women and poor segments of society lacking access to cooling support systems. Heatstroke risk is further compounded due to dehydration as it impairs the body’s ability to produce enough sweat to effectively cool the body temperature. In addition to these direct health impacts, rising temperatures further exacerbate air pollution, especially ground-level ozone, causing more severe and potentially fatal outcomes. Between 2000 and 2019, approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occurred annually worldwide, 36% of these deaths in Europe—averaging over 175,000 lives lost each year. 

It has been noted in the city of Dhangadhi that heat strokes, stress exhaustion and dehydration lead to a rise in hospital admissions for heat-related illnesses such as headaches, diarrhea, nausea, and exacerbations of chronic health conditions like kidney, heart, and respiratory diseases. Existing health conditions worsen while the cardiovascular conditions get further compounded due to the urban heat island effect. Heatwaves also contribute to foodborne and waterborne diseases. As a result, the already stretched urban public health care system comes under strain.  

UNDP’s programmatic framework to foster community resilience seeks to mitigate extreme heat and heatwaves by supporting cities get ahead” of the curve through better understanding heat risks by mapping heat hotspots and developing heat risk profiles. Risk-informing urban planning, augmenting heat alerts and advisory systems and implementing nature-based cooling solutions including restoration and smart management of urban blue-green infrastructure and ecosystems is imperative. 

The programmatic approach aligned with SDG-11 and Pillar-3 of the New Urban Agenda, contributes to UNSG’s Call for Action on Extreme Heat emphasizing concerted efforts to enhance international cooperation on (i) caring for the vulnerable; (ii) protecting workers; (iii) boosting resilience of economies and societies; and (iv) limiting temperature rise to 1.50C. 

UNDP’s Resilient Urban Futures Initiative is advancing this approach in 4 cities in Africa viz. Kisumu (Kenya), Busia (Uganda), Hawassa (Ethiopia) and Damietta (Egypt) by addressing the increasing incidence, frequency and magnitude of extreme heat and heatwaves through in-situ policy and programmatic action by engaging a broad set of sectors and stakeholders. 

Recognizing that a community-facing hazard such as heat requires a stronger people-centered and community-led action, UNDP is adopting a novel crowdfunding-based approach in the city of Dhangadhi in Nepal by pro-actively engaging local communities including schools, market associations and other stakeholders to work with the administrative entities to identify heat beating contextual solutions. These include using heat absorbing or reflective paints on public shelters, installing water coolers, natural shaded trees and even creating public awareness about taking care of the birds and animals as part of heat mitigation action.  

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Strengthening municipal systems and capacities for improved heat risk governance is not only essential for safeguarding lives but also has the potential to create opportunities for long-term socio-economic and environmental benefits – helping realize the sustainability aspirations of the SDGs.  

UNDP proposes to replicate the extreme heat and heatwave mitigation action by making it an integral part of its standard policy and programmatic approach within its urban risk management and resilience building initiatives.  

Scaling up and scaling out heatwave action has assumed urgency in the wake of rising impacts of extreme heat and heatwaves across regions and countries – a hazard which has obliterated the north-south divide as rising temperatures not only scorch tropical regions in global south but is taking a rising toll even in countries in the global north.  

As the impact of extreme heat continues to rise, now is the time to invest in community-led, risk-informed solutions. Join UNDP’s efforts to #BeatTheHeat—because resilient cities start with collective action. 

Support UNDP’s Crowdfunding Campaign to support people and communities in the city of Dhangadhi to #BeatTheHeat by donating here.