Heat Waves in India: A Complete National Examination of Causes, Consequences, Failures, and the Path to a Heat-Resilient Future
H eat in India was once treated as an ordinary feature of summer. It was difficult, sometimes exhausting, and in certain regions severe, yet it was largely accepted as a seasonal hardship that would eventually give way to the monsoon. That older understanding is no longer adequate. In the twenty-first century, heat waves in India have become more frequent, longer-lasting, geographically widespread, and far more dangerous than in the past. They now threaten public health, agriculture, water security, urban infrastructure, biodiversity, labor productivity, education, and economic stability. What makes the modern heat crisis especially serious is that it arises from several forces acting together. Global climate change is raising baseline temperatures. Cities are expanding in ways that trap heat. Wetlands, trees, lakes, and open land are disappearing. Millions of people live in housing poorly suited to extreme temperatures. Informal workers must continue laboring outdoors even in dangerou...
