Don’t just moan over the unbearable heat

The Met Department has warned of severe heatwaves throughout the week in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. Parts of the country, starting with the eastern states, have been experiencing prolonged heatwave conditions since April. Extreme temperature events in India are now 45 times more likely than in the past, according to a World Weather Attribution study. The era of protracted spells of sweltering days, with temperatures considerably higher than previous years, is upon us.

Just complaining about the weather and comparing temperatures aren’t an option. The economic impacts of such consistently high temperatures are well documented: reduction in GDP, farm output and human productivity, and rising cases of adverse health impacts. Adapting to extreme heat and prolonged heatwaves, and building resilience, must become core to the planning process. Tackling extreme heat requires systemic changes and shifts in mindsets. Better late than never.

This means much more than cooling spaces through air conditioning. It’s about creating conditions by which people and other sentient beings can function optimally, despite rising mercury. That already-built and new infrastructure are fit for purpose should be a given. This has to be done while ensuring solutions do not contribute to exacerbating the heat problem. Developing and implementing heat action plans must be made mandatory for all states, along with better planned green spaces, greening urban landscapes and incentivising cool roofs – which can be synchronised with the rooftop solar programme. Investing in integrated mass public transport to improve seamless mobility and nature-based infrastructure design is key to protecting people from extreme heat. There are solutions, only if we act on them.