The recent World Water Day focussed on water and gender and should lead to a harder question in India’s cities: What does climate resilience mean when women in informal settlements still have to search, queue, carry and ration water in extreme heat?
That question is more urgent this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said India is likely to face a hotter-than-normal summer in 2026, with above-average temperatures and more heatwave days.
India now has Heat Action Plans (HAPs) in many cities. They are meant to reduce deaths during heatwaves. Most focus on early warnings, public advisories and short-term action during peak heat days. But heat is no longer a short-term problem and evidently, these plans have not kept up. Most HAPs treat heat as a temporary event. They are activated in summer and then recede from view. Long-term issues such as housing, water systems and work conditions get less attention.
This matters because heat does not affect everyone in the same way. HAPs often list vulnerable groups but they define vulnerability too narrowly. They focus on age or illness. They do not look closely enough at how caste, income, gender and occupation shape daily exposure to heat. Many plans identify outdoor workers as vulnerable but they often stop there. They do not ask whether these workers have access to water, rest or shade. They do not ask what happens when a domestic worker, sanitation worker or street vendor cannot afford to stop working in peak heat.
This is even clearer for women in informal settlements. Women often manage water for the household. This means planning around tanker timings, walking to public taps, waiting in queues and carrying heavy loads back home. In summer, this work becomes harder and more frequent.
Heat increases water demand. Supply often stays the same or becomes more erratic. So women spend more time securing water, often in crowded and difficult conditions. But HAPs rarely deal with this directly. Most plans mention drinking water in public spaces, such as bus stops or markets. But they do not address how households in low-income areas get water every day. They do not map water shortages well enough or plan for higher demand during heatwaves.
Apart from drinking, water is needed for cooling the body, bathing, cleaning and care work. Without enough water, heat stress builds quickly. Studies show that water scarcity during extreme heat increases physical strain and mental stress for women. It also reduces their ability to work and earn. In some cases, it adds to household tension and risk of violence. But these links are mostly absent from heat planning.
There is also a gap between policy and practice. Many HAPs include steps like providing water at construction sites, ensuring shaded rest areas or setting up cooling centres. But reports from cities show that these measures are often not implemented. Workers still lack basic facilities. This points to a wider problem. Most HAPs do not have strong legal backing. They depend on coordination across departments, which often breaks down.
Another problem is how plans are made. Many HAPs are designed from the top down. They use temperature data and health statistics. But they do not include enough input from communities. So, they miss local details, such as where water is unavailable, which areas trap heat or how people actually cope. Some cities are starting to test ward-level planning as seen in Bengaluru. These approaches collect local data and involve residents in identifying problems. That can improve how plans work on the ground. But it is still limited.
Global frameworks are already moving in this direction. The UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, adopted at COP28, identifies water and sanitation as core sectors of climate adaptation and calls for reducing vulnerability through equitable access to essential services. It also says adaptation must be people-centred and gender-responsive, way which are more grounded to think about heat.
In India, HAPs need to change in a few clear ways. Water access must be central to heat planning. Cities should map water gaps, increase supply in high-risk areas and ensure emergency access during heatwaves. Vulnerability must also be understood in social terms. Plans should look at who does the work of coping with heat, especially women, and how that work is affected. Implementation needs more funding, monitoring and accountability. And planning needs to be more local, with ward-level data and community input guiding decisions.
World Water Day is a reminder that water is not a separate issue. In cities facing extreme heat, water policy and heat policy are closely linked. If women in informal settlements still have to walk long distances for water in rising temperatures, then current plans are not enough.
This article is authored by Sourabh Roy, research fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.