Jamia professor Atiqur Rahman gets Rs 47.46 lakh project to study how water bodies, trees reduce urban heat

New Delhi: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has awarded a Rs 47.46-lakh research project to the head of the Department of Geography at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Atiqur Rahman, to study the role of natural landscapes in mitigating rising urban temperatures.

The project 'Reduction of Heat due to the Presence of Water Bodies and Tree Cover' will examine three Indian cities representing different climatic zones -- Kolkata (warm and humid) in east, Bengaluru (temperate) in south, and Udaipur (semi-arid) in west.

An official said the project is significant as urban areas are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect, wherein built-up surfaces, reduced vegetation cover, loss of water bodies, and altered surface energy balance amplify ambient temperature relative to surrounding rural areas.

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"Several cities in developing countries, as well as India, are witnessing elevated UHI effects, intensified heat stress, and severely exacerbating thermal discomfort, which increases heat risks and climate vulnerability, particularly for the low-income and marginalised population," the official said. Rahman, the principal investigator of the project, specialises in urban environmental management, climate change, UHI, water resources and disaster management, he said.

The main aim of the project is to study and qualify the role of water bodies and tree cover, which play an important role in the mitigation of UHI effects and heat stress and function as nature-based solutions, through evaporative cooling, shading effects and maintaining surface energy balance, he said.