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Mapping Odisha’s Rising Thermal Hotspots: A Wake-Up Call for Climate Action

  • Writer: Mr. Sidha Sankalpa Moharana
    Mr. Sidha Sankalpa Moharana
  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read

Rapid urbanization, industrial expansion, and land degradation are fundamentally altering the thermal landscape of Odisha. In a new study from our Geo-Marine and Geomatics Research Lab at the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, researchers Ms. Dikshika Mahapatra and Dr. Debadatta Swain reported a significant and concerning rise in land surface thermal hotspots across the state.


Published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s prestigious journal, Environmental Science: Advances, the research leverages 20 years of satellite data to track the evolution of thermal hotspots across all 30 districts of Odisha.



Key Findings from the Study

The study highlighted that extreme surface heating is no longer a localized issue, but a widespread environmental challenge expanding at alarming rates:


  • Urban and Industrial Heating: Rapidly developing districts, particularly Khordha, Ganjam, Cuttack, and Sundargarh, are experiencing a steady rise in extreme daytime temperatures. In several coastal districts, the coverage of thermal hotspots is expanding by 2% to 9% annually.


  • The "Concrete" Effect: Built-up areas with impermeable surfaces, like concrete and asphalt, absorb and retain significantly more heat than vegetated areas, driving up the thermal stress in these zones.


  • Beyond the Cities: The most striking finding is that heat stress is no longer confined to urban centers. Interior and hilly districts such as Balangir, Kalahandi, Rayagada, and Gajapati are experiencing severe, persistent thermal stress driven by forest degradation, vegetation loss, and expanding stretches of barren land.


Figure: A geographical breakdown of persistent thermal hotspots (in red) in Odisha. The figure visualizes how varied topographies, spanning the districts in Coastal Plains, Central River Basins, Eastern Hills and Northern Plateau regions, are currently experiencing severe and persistent land surface heating.

Implications and the Path Forward

Prolonged exposure to these expanding thermal hotspots carries serious consequences for public health, energy demand, and overall environmental sustainability. As more populations become vulnerable to extreme heat, it is critical to use high-resolution, satellite-based monitoring to drive evidence-based climate resilience planning.


To mitigate these escalating risks, our team advocates for targeted, region-specific interventions:

  • Expanding urban green spaces and cooling infrastructure.

  • Adopting heat-resilient urban planning, such as cool roofs.

  • Restoring riverbank vegetation and mangrove ecosystems.

  • Protecting forests in the Eastern Ghats and improving watershed management.

This work underscores our lab's ongoing commitment to leveraging advanced geomatics and geospatial science to address pressing climate challenges and guide sustainable development in the region.

In the Press

Our findings have been widely covered by national and regional media outlets. Read more about the study here:

 
 
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