Guwahati: A new government study has identified a cluster of wards along Guwahati’s southern growth corridor as the city’s most heat-stressed areas, with two wards witnessing a dramatic jump from moderate to critical heat-risk status within just five years.
The report, Urban Heat Effects in Assam, prepared by the Assam Urban Knowledge Hub and GIS GeoHub under the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Assam, found that Guwahati’s urban heat pattern has evolved from isolated hotspots in 2020 to interconnected “heat corridors” by 2025, particularly along the GS Road, Guwahati Bypass and Fatasil Ambari belt.
Among the most alarming findings, Ward 6 and Ward 23 moved directly from the moderate category to the critical heat-stress category between 2020 and 2025, indicating rapid loss of vegetation, increasing built-up density and rising surface temperatures. The report states that these wards require urgent intervention.
The study identified Wards 42, 48, 39, 21, 53, 20, 28, 30, 35 and 54 as “severe worsening” wards, while Wards 37, 16, 56, 36 and 29 were classified as worsening heat-stress zones.
Researchers found that Guwahati’s average land surface temperature increased by 1°C between 2020 and 2025. During the same period, the city’s built-up area expanded from 71.7 per cent to 74.8 per cent, while green cover declined from 23.8 per cent to 21.3 per cent.
The number of wards classified as critical heat-risk zones doubled from 10 in 2020 to 20 in 2025, reflecting what the report describes as a widening and consolidation of urban heat across the city.
At the same time, cooler wards became increasingly confined to areas influenced by the Brahmaputra, Deepor Beel and Guwahati’s remaining hill forests.
According to the report, the southern urban belt has developed a pronounced linear heat signature linked to rapid urban expansion, transport infrastructure, flyovers and commercial development.
Areas around GS Road, the Guwahati Bypass and Fatasil Ambari Road have effectively merged into what researchers describe as a “massive heat island” extending southwards from the city core.
While Deepor Beel and the Brahmaputra continue to provide important cooling effects, the study warns that their influence is becoming increasingly restricted as urbanisation intensifies around them.
The report concludes that Guwahati is transitioning from a city characterised by scattered heat pockets to a “networked heat system”, requiring corridor-level planning, preservation of urban green spaces and ecosystem-based cooling measures to mitigate future heat risks.
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