How Hyderabad can build its way out of the heat

Glass-clad towers and sprawling gated communities have become defining features of Hyderabad’s skyline. But they have also become major contributors to one of the city’s biggest climate challenges — the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where built-up areas become significantly hotter than their surroundings. Ironically, many of these hotspots are also home to the city’s largest concentration of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)-certified buildings, which are designed to reduce heat absorption, improve energy efficiency and create healthier indoor environments. So why are some of Hyderabad’s hottest neighbourhoods also its greenest on paper? Experts say the answer is not that green buildings don’t work, but that there simply aren’t enough of them, and they need to be backed by neighbourhood-wide planning. IGBC guidelines promote measures such as cool roofs, reflective materials, shaded landscapes, native vegetation and green roofs to reduce heat absorption. “As a result, the overall temperature in the surrounding area is reduced, mitigating the heat island effect,” the guidelines state. Yet studies by Hyderabad Urban Lab, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and other researchers continue to identify Gachibowli, HITEC City, Financial District, Madhapur and Kukatpally among Hyderabad’s hottest locations, where concrete, asphalt and glass dominate the landscape. Although these areas have a high concentration of green-certified buildings, they remain vastly outnumbered by conventional buildings, roads and paved surfaces. Scale up green buildingsUrban planner and architect Srinivas Murthy said expecting a handful of certified buildings to cool an entire neighbourhood is unrealistic. “Even in areas with the highest number of green buildings, they still make up only a small share of the total built-up area. Thousands of conventional buildings continue to dominate the landscape,” he said. According to IGBC, Telangana has over 1,200 certified projects across commercial, residential, industrial, metro and other sectors. But that represents only a fraction of Hyderabad’s overall building stock. “High-rise buildings cannot avoid using steel and cement, which naturally absorb heat. Green-certified materials are designed to retain less heat, but they cannot eliminate it,” he said. He said govts could accelerate adoption by linking incentives such as additional Floor Space Index (FSI) or tax benefits to measurable urban cooling outcomes.Design for Hyderabad’s climateGlass façades remain one of the biggest challenges. “Regular glass reflects and radiates heat, worsening the urban heat island effect. IGBC encourages developers to use high-performance green glass, but only a limited number currently do,” Murthy said. Experts also advocate revising building bylaws to discourage excessive glass façades and encourage climate-responsive architecture better suited to Hyderabad’s hot climate.Plan neighbourhoods tooSiraz Hirani of ClimateRISE Alliance said cooling a city requires coordinated action across entire neighbourhoods rather than isolated projects. “Cool roofs, solar panels, vegetation, cross ventilation and sustainable materials mostly benefit the building itself and its immediate surroundings. A city cools only when these measures are adopted across entire neighbourhoods,” he said.Policy incentivesOnly around 10% of Hyderabad's buildings are currently green-certified, according to IGBC. “Most projects achieve Gold certification, but wider adoption and more Platinum-rated projects are needed to create a larger impact,” said C Shekhar Reddy, chairman of IGBC. Rejecting the perception that green buildings are prohibitively expensive, Reddy said Gold certification typically raises project costs by about 1%, while Platinum certification adds roughly 2%. “The additional investment is usually recovered within three to four years through lower operating costs," he said.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Hyderabad | Silver Rate in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad | Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Petrol Price in Hyderabad | Diesel Price in Hyderabad | CNG Price in Hyderabad | LPG Price in HyderabadStay updated with the latest Hyderabad news. Download the TOI App.