NEW DELHI - Seventy-six percent of the population in India is at a very high risk of extreme heat, a latest study conducted by New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said.

According to the study, the heat-affected population is experiencing alarmingly warm nights, increasing relative humidity, and heat island effects in densely populated urban areas.

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"Extreme heat now poses a risk to 57 percent of Indian districts – home to 76 percent of the population," the study said.

According to the study, the top ten most heat-risk-prone states are Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.

The study presents a first-of-its-kind composite heat risk assessment of over 700 districts in India using 35 indicators, offering a granular picture of how climate change has reshaped heat hazard trends from 1982 to 2022.

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The study underlines that with Indian cities and districts increasingly navigating complex and erratic climate patterns, the need for heat-resilient planning and governance becomes urgent.