Keeping it cool: A student splashes water on his face at a roadside fountain to cool off amid humid weather in Bengaluru on Tuesday; GBA will build climate-resilient bus stops, net-zero cooling stations and ‘cool roofs’ atop schools, health centres and other buildings to help keep the city cool.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
As summers grow hotter in Bengaluru, the city is turning to lessons from some of India’s hottest urban centres. Drawing from heat-resilience measures adopted in cities such as Jaipur and Ahmedabad, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will build climate-resilient bus stops, net-zero cooling stations and ‘cool roofs’ atop schools, health centres and other public buildings under a ₹5-crore pilot funded by the Union government.
The project, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), will focus on areas identified as ‘high-heat hotspots.’
Officials confirmed to The Hindu that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project will be signed later this week. Bengaluru North City Corporation Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar has been appointed the nodal officer for the pilot project.
Climate resilient bus stops
One component of the project involves developing five climate-resilient bus stops at locations identified through a heat hotspot study.
Inspired by similar interventions in Ahmedabad, the identified bus stops either completely lack shelters or have dilapidated infrastructure, exposing commuters to rain and heat. Besides providing improved protection from the weather, the upgraded shelters will also display ward-level hazard maps and disaster preparedness information to improve public awareness.
Cooling station
The project will also establish “net-zero, multi-hazard cooling stations” for outdoor and informal workers at locations such as major markets, waste collection centres, parks, lakes and Primary Health Centres (PHCs).
Drawing inspiration from Jaipur’s net-zero cooling stations, these structures will depend on passive cooling techniques and solar energy to provide shaded rest areas and drinking water without adding pressure on the city’s power grid.
Officials, however, acknowledged challenges in operating the cooling stations, including ensuring a reliable water supply for misting and drinking water systems during peak summer shortages and protecting solar panels and khus curtains from wear and tear. They, however, said maintenance mechanisms would be put in place.
Cool roofs
Among the key interventions is also the installation of high Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) cool roofs on 45 public buildings, including seven Indira Canteens, eight Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs), eight Namma Clinics, nine government schools and 13 anganwadis.
“These facilities were prioritised because they primarily serve low-income communities, children and students, who are among the most vulnerable to heat stress. The reflective coatings are expected to reduce roof surface temperatures by 8-10 degrees Celsius and indoor temperatures by 2-4 degrees Celsius,” North Corporation Commissioner, who had piloted the project earlier this year, said.
According to an official, the buildings had previously recorded temperatures about 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than the ambient outdoor temperature. After the intervention, indoor temperatures fell by more than 3 degrees Celsius.
To reduce heat stress while working, the project will also include the distribution of 3,255 cooling kits, estimated to cost around ₹2,200 each to pourakarmikas, ASHA workers, Dry Waste Collection Centre workers. Officials said they are preparing the plan for the same currently.
Published – July 14, 2026 09:58 pm IST
