World Cities Day: Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience

In this event Global Policy Insights along with its Fellows from the Global Policy, Diplomacy, and Sustainability Fellowship and partner organization EnviPol would deliberate on the issue of adapting cities for climate resilience. Rapid urbanization has led to a severe depletion of natural ecology and resources. Further, climate change has added to the crisis leading to adverse impacts including the drying up of water resources, heatwaves, unpredictable rainfall etc. rendering cities uninhabitable for the citizens, especially the vulnerable sections of the population. For India, the urban population has increased from 17% in 1950 to 31% now. Many (Riley et. Al) have likened the slum dwellers to refugee populations living in abject poverty and infested with chronic diseases. 81 million Indians living in urban areas earn incomes that are below the poverty line. They are more prone to industrial hazards and communicable diseases. According to the Indian Institute of Population Sciences, 89.6 per cent of people living in slums die of respiratory diseases followed by digestive problems (41.6 per cent) and aches and pains (37.8 per cent). Human encroachment in for urbanization has led to a greater spread of zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19 which find their epicentre in urban sprawls.