This article is part of a series studying the effects of climate change induced risks and rising informality on India’s vulnerable and marginalised communities. The subsequent articles in the series would focus on impact of unplanned urbanisation on slums, and targeted incidents of discriminations to specific communities living in informal settlements.

On a recent August afternoon, the “smart city” Gurgaon drowned in flooding within a few hours of incessant downpour. The flooding happened not out of a biblical storm, not out of some once-in-a-century deluge, but from the sort of regular torrential rains that cities across the tropics should be able to sip and drain away like second nature.

Instead, what one saw with the consistent monsoon rains was the Millennium City turned into a floating aquarium, displacing thousands of workers and destroying livelihoods.

It is telling that in the aftermath of the August floods, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) rushed to allocate Rs 100 crore to patch up the battered Kullu-Manali corridor of NH 21 – a road that is as much a lifeline as it is a poor joke, a metaphor, for our kind of infra-obsessed development model.

Entire sections of the highway were simply washed away by the swollen Beas, cutting Manali off from the rest of the country. The NHAI now speaks of tunnels and elevated structures as “long-term solutions”, but in the meantime the urgency is about pouring concrete back into the voids gouged by water and landslides. We fix the scar each time, but we do not change the reckless design that ensures the wound will reopen.

Kerala’s 2018 flood was grandly labelled the “disaster of the century”, as though disasters wait their turn on a calendar. Nearly 483 lives were lost, a million people were displaced, and damage worth Rs 40,000 crore was tallied, much of it worsened by dams managed with more faith than foresight. Delhi’s Yamuna floods are less dramatic but more reliable: every monsoon, nearly 10,000 families are pushed out of their homes, schools and wages are cut off, and metro stations reinvent themselves as relief camps.

This year in Kannur, more than 50 houses went under, tribal colonies were evacuated, train services halted, and the Pazhassi dam’s shutters were raised in nervous haste. Officials even banned tourists and quarrying, though such gestures hardly impress swollen rivers. In India, floods have become less “act(s) of God” and more an annual audit of how little we prepare for what we already know is coming.

The refrain is depressingly familiar: every year brings a new “unprecedented” disaster, followed by the same blame game – state governments crying foul at the Centre, municipalities pointing at state governments, and ordinary citizens pointing their cameras at flooded basements and viral flyovers turned into rivers.

Climate change and low infra-resilience of Indian cities

As India’s cities continue to grow rapidly, a staggering number of people find themselves living in growing informal settlements.

While the last comprehensive slum census conducted in 2011 showed 65 million people living in slums and other informal settlements, recent estimates suggest the number to be over 100 million, accounting for a quarter of India’s urban population.

These communities are now facing an escalating threat from climate change, which is intensifying the frequency and severity of floods, heatwaves and storms. Such extreme weather events do not impact all urban residents equally.

Instead, the urban poor living informally bear the brunt of these crises, amplifying existing inequalities and vulnerabilities. A recent study highlighted that India has the world’s highest number of slum clusters in flood-prone areas. It is imperative that India adopts inclusive policies that protect and empower informal residents rather than deepen their marginalisation.

The recent floods along the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi provide a stark example of this growing challenge. Unusually heavy monsoon rains caused the Yamuna river levels to rise to their third-highest point ever recorded, submerging large parts of informal settlements located precariously close to the water.

These floods displaced thousands, damaged homes and disrupted the livelihoods of daily-wage workers and small-scale traders who depend on the informal economy. This is not an isolated situation. In Mumbai, the city’s coastal slums face frequent flooding and the growing threat of sea-level rise, disrupting life and livelihood.

Bangalore, once known for its moderate climate and lush greenery, now confronts high climate change severity with soaring temperatures, diminished green cover and increased heatwave days, placing its informal workers at mounting risk from extreme heat and erratic rainfall. Kolkata’s informal neighbourhoods, situated in low-lying areas, struggle with persistent waterlogging and compromised sanitation systems during periods of heavy rain.

Heatwaves in Chennai have particularly harsh effects on informal workers and slum dwellers due to overcrowded housing and limited access to green spaces. These challenges are compounded by inadequate infrastructure, poor drainage, insecure land tenure and the dense population of informal settlements, leaving residents incredibly vulnerable to climate shocks.

Climate change impacts slum dwellers in distinct ways, with severe consequences for vulnerable stakeholder groups such as women, children, the elderly and informal workers. Women in slums are often exposed to extreme heat for longer durations due to household chores performed in poorly ventilated dwellings, heightening risks of illness, heat exhaustion and lost productivity.

Children’s health and safety are jeopardised by recurring exposure to waterborne diseases, unsafe play environments and nutritional deficits, particularly during floods, heatwaves and water shortages.

Informal workers, including street vendors, domestic helpers and construction labourers, face occupational hazards aggravated by climate extremes, with frequent disruption of daily incomes and elevated risks of injuries and heat-related illnesses.

The compounded physical and economic stress also fuels mental health challenges in these communities, with heightened anxiety, depression and trauma reported among slum dwellers following climate disasters. These intersecting vulnerabilities underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and climate-resilient urban planning that centre the realities of stakeholders at the frontlines of India’s climate crisis.

While the risks remain substantial, India has initiated several steps to address climate change impacts on informal urban settlements, particularly in the context of heat adaptation and affordable housing. Many cities have begun formulating climate action plans that recognise heatwaves as disasters, such as the National Disaster Management Authority’s inclusion of heatwaves in its framework for urban risk management.

Specific interventions like cool roofs, improved ventilation and modular structures such as those piloted by the Mahila Housing SEWA Trust in Gujarat and Delhi have shown promise in lowering indoor temperatures and improving resilience for slum dwellers.

Affordable housing initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) and its Affordable Rental Housing Complexes initiative, aim to extend access to safer homes for low- and moderate-income residents, though experts suggest these policies should mandate climate-resilient features like cool roofs and improved water supply.

Despite progress, significant gaps remain in policy development. Most climate plans do not include detailed mapping at the neighbourhood level, sufficient community engagement or dedicated budget provisions for informal settlements.

These deficiencies highlight the necessity of expanding nature-based solutions, providing income support for informal workers during heat waves, and investing in participatory strategies for enhancing climate resilience in slum areas.

While India’s informal settlements continue facing immense challenges, there are compelling examples globally of communities deploying grassroots resilience strategies. In Nairobi, Kenya’s largest informal settlement, Kibera, local initiatives have introduced waste-to-energy projects that mitigate flooding and improve sanitation.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, residents of favelas have engaged in tree planting and green roofing efforts to reduce urban heat and improve livelihoods.

Additionally, participatory slum upgrading programs in Southeast Asia harness local knowledge to integrate climate adaptation measures that are context-sensitive and sustainable. India can draw valuable lessons from these community-led approaches, adapting them to its diverse urban contexts and social realities.

Enhancing resilience for marginalised communities in urban areas facing climate change requires significant policy changes. Cities must include informal settlements in their climate adaptation and urban planning efforts, focusing on infrastructure investments that improve drainage, sanitation and housing.

State and city-level climate action plans must include detailed neighbourhood-level mapping of climate vulnerabilities, using geospatial assessment and local knowledge to identify the areas at greatest risk from heatwaves, flooding and poor air quality.

Additionally, social protection programmes specifically designed for informal workers, such as emergency cash transfers and livelihood support, are essential to help them cope with the impacts of extreme weather events.

It is crucial that resilience planning involves meaningful participation from residents of informal settlements, allowing them to share their local knowledge and priorities. Lastly, governments should increase support for community-led adaptation initiatives by providing technical assistance and financial resources, building on successful models from other cities in the Global South.

Accentuating disaster governance deficit

What makes India's annual catastrophes tragic is not that they cannot be predicted but that they are so routine.  The flood geography is one of the world's best mapped regions: the Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains, Bihar and West Bengal, and Assam are long-documented as perennially flood-vulnerable.

Yet in recent years , even in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, extensively classified as semi-arid regions, have seen devastating floods, evidence of the volatility of the climate and the paralysis in planning.

This drift into unpreparedness is not accidental but systemic. Decades of flood control programmes have produced embankments that collapse under pressure, sluice gates that silt up and drainage systems that fail under the first heavy monsoon shower.

The 2022 study on India’s flood history notes that even when technical fixes exist, they are undermined by institutional neglect and the absence of accountability: embankments are maintained sporadically, early-warning systems are chronically underfunded, and state disaster management authorities are under-capacitated.

The UNDRR Status Report 2020 gets straight to the point: India has a sturdy architecture of laws, policies and institutions on paper but such a scaffold fails at the implementation level. National to state to district level coordination is weak and piecemeal; overlaps in mandates prevail; and disaster management remains more reactive than preventive.

The end result is a regime of governance adept at the art of post-disaster compensation ceremonies but unable to incorporate risk reduction in development planning. India’s urban informal settlements are also at the forefront of the climate crisis. Without urgent, inclusive, and rights-based policies, millions will continue to face the compounded effects of environmental shocks and social exclusion. This moment calls for strong political commitment to create urban futures that are just, resilient, and sustainable for all residents, regardless of their tenure status. Protecting the rights and livelihoods of informal city dwellers is crucial for breaking cycles of vulnerability and building climate resilience in India’s growing cities.

Deepanshu Mohan is a professor of economics, dean, IDEAS, and director, Centre for New Economics Studies. He is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and an academic visiting fellow with AMES, University of Oxford.

Namesh Killemsetty is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (Academic Affairs) at Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University.

Najam Us Saqib is a Phd scholar at Central University of Kashmir. He is a Senior Research Analyst with Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES), OP Jindal Global University.

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