Leveraging AI for Resilient Urban Disaster Management in India

Department of Law, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India

^* Corresponding author: ramnihangirgekar@gmail.com

Abstract

Urban vulnerabilities in India are thereby majorly enhanced by changing environmental factors, with extreme weather events occurring on 255 of 274 days in the first nine months of 2024, causing over 3,000 deaths and heavy damage to infrastructure. The National Disaster Management Amendment Bill (2024) provides for the constitution of Urban Disaster Management Authorities to counter such threats; however, these Authorities have failed to factor Environmental Multiplication Factors effectively. This study builds on qualitative and quantitative analyses of the implementation of AI-Integrated Environmental Public Health Risk Management (AI- EPHRM) in the five metropolitan cities of India. A comparative study of India's approach vis-à-vis Singapore's integrated AI environmental monitoring system, which reduced the severity of disasters by 45% because of early detection, brings to light serious implementation gaps in Indian cities. In this study, researchers showed that the use of AI algorithms together with monitoring environmental parameters would enhance the processes of disaster detection and management. The results indicate that the hybrid governance model, balancing national standards with local innovations, is the way to attain urban resilience.