Surat and Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporations in India, in collaboration with GIZ and IndiaRAP, are undertaking an innovative project to integrate climate risk mapping with 600km of iRAP road safety assessments to enable the prioritization of infrastructure that is both climate-resilient and safer for all road users.

With technical support from Innpact Solutions, a geospatial technology startup, the project is leveraging GeoAI, satellite data, and iRAP protocols to overlay climate vulnerabilities – such as urban flooding, heat stress, and air pollution – onto high-risk road networks. The overarching aim is to make Surat and Bhubaneswar replicable models for integrated urban risk management.

The project recognizes that climate and infrastructure risks are deeply interlinked. Road surfaces are degraded by heat and flooding, and air pollution is exacerbated by transport emissions. Conversely, unsafe or deteriorated infrastructure further increases exposure to climate-related hazards.

The project aims to produce a comprehensive assessment of climate and road safety risks by mapping spatial overlaps between climate risk, road safety risk (through the iRAP methodology) and infrastructure exposure, with a special focus on the cities’ road network and major public infrastructure. Specifically:

• To evaluate the cities’ exposure to climate hazards, including urban flooding, heat stress, wind risk, and air pollution;
• To assess climate vulnerability of road infrastructure and high-footfall public amenities;
• To undertake a road safety risk assessment using the iRAP methodology across Bhubaneshwar and Surat’s major road network of 600km;
• To identify and recommend location-specific nature-based solutions for risk reduction; and
• To build an interactive, GIS-based dashboard for visualizing and integrating climate and road safety risk assessments.

For more information on iRAP’s tools and projects supporting the inclusion of safety in climate resilience and adaptation efforts, click here.

Image credit: Albin Tharakan