Bhubaneswar’s Heat and Cooling Action Plan Could Cut Energy Use by 67% by 2050

Bhubaneswar is bracing for a hotter future with a bold new initiative aimed at curbing extreme heat and skyrocketing cooling demand. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), in collaboration with iFOREST and the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC), has launched the city’s first Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plan (IHCAP).

The plan responds to alarming projections: by 2050, the city’s cooling electricity demand could rise sevenfold, making today’s extreme heat the new normal. Air conditioner ownership has already surged from 6% to 15% between 2021 and 2023, now consuming nearly one-third of electricity—up to two-thirds during peak summer.

To counter this trajectory, IHCAP proposes a suite of interventions:

• Expanding urban greenery to meet WHO’s benchmark of 9 sq m per person.
• Restoring water bodies and implementing green roads and traffic decongestion.
• Enforcing Odisha’s Energy Conservation Building Codes for structures over 500 sq m.

If implemented effectively, these measures could reduce surface temperatures by up to 9.4°C and cut cooling energy consumption by 44% to 67%.

Experts hail the plan as a replicable model for other Indian cities. “This is a transformative blueprint,” said iFOREST CEO Chandra Bhushan. SEC’s Ander Zozaya emphasized the importance of data-driven climate planning.

With IHCAP, Bhubaneswar aims to break the vicious cycle of rising temperatures, energy emissions, and cooling demand—ushering in a more resilient urban future.