Megha Pattnaik
As Indian cities continue to record unusually high temperatures each summer, the impact of extreme heat is no longer limited to humans alone. Across crowded streets, flyovers, marketplaces and residential colonies, stray animals are silently battling a crisis that often goes unnoticed.
From dogs resting beneath parked vehicles to birds desperately searching for water, urban heatwaves are becoming increasingly dangerous for animals that survive entirely in open environments. In cities like Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius have turned roads and pavements into heat traps, leaving strays vulnerable to dehydration, exhaustion and heatstroke.
Unlike pets, stray animals have little access to shade, clean drinking water or medical care. Many spend hours wandering through concrete-heavy neighbourhoods where rising urban temperatures are intensified by shrinking green cover and expanding infrastructure. Experts often describe this as the “urban heat island effect”. It is a phenomenon where cities become significantly hotter due to concrete structures, traffic congestion and lack of vegetation.
For stray dogs, the situation can become life-threatening during peak afternoon hours. Hot roads can burn their paws, while prolonged exposure to heat may lead to rapid breathing, weakness and collapse. Animal welfare volunteers across Indian cities frequently report an increase in emergency rescue calls during summer months involving dehydration and heat exhaustion.
Birds are equally affected. Sparrows, pigeons, crows and other birds struggle to find water sources as ponds and open reservoirs dry up. Cases of birds falling unconscious due to extreme heat have become more common in recent years. In several cities, people have started placing clay water bowls on balconies, terraces and roadside spaces to help birds survive the harsh summer.
The crisis is especially severe in densely populated urban pockets where construction activities and disappearing trees leave very few cool spaces for animals. In many Indian cities, stray cattle are often seen standing near drains, water tankers or under flyovers simply to escape direct sunlight. Monkeys in some regions have even entered residential areas searching for water during prolonged heatwaves.
Animal welfare groups argue that climate change and rapid urbanisation are worsening the problem every year. Rising temperatures, reduced water availability and shrinking natural habitats are forcing animals to adapt to increasingly hostile city environments. Yet discussions around urban heat management rarely include the needs of animals and birds.
However, small actions by citizens can make a meaningful difference. Keeping water bowls outside homes, avoiding feeding during peak heat hours, providing temporary shaded spaces and informing local rescue groups about injured animals can help reduce suffering. Several resident welfare associations and volunteers in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar have already begun community-driven initiatives to support stray animals during extreme summers.
The growing heat across Indian cities is not just an environmental issue; it is also a reflection of how urban spaces are becoming harsher for every living being that depends on them. While humans can retreat indoors, stray animals continue to endure the heat in silence.
Their struggle is unfolding on the same streets we cross every day, often unnoticed, but impossible to ignore once seen closely.