Let lived experiences guide our policy responses to heat waves

How people's lives are actually affected by rising temperatures should shape policies aimed at relief

- ISHANA DESHPANDE & NAISHA KHANNA are, respectively, associate and analyst, Artha Global.

As the India Meteorological Department warns of abovenormal temperatures across much of India in the coming weeks, the country is once again preparing for a hotter summer. But for many Indians, rising heat is more than a seasonal forecast; it shapes everyday life.

Climate change is no longer an abstract environmental challenge. It is experienced through heat stress, illness, income loss and rising energy costs. In cities such as Delhi, rising temperatures are already reshaping daily routines, from when people work and travel to how households cope inside their homes.

However, a persistent gap remains between climate ambition and ground outcomes. This gap widens when policies and programmes are not designed around how people actually experience heat in their everyday lives, masking the uneven, neighbourhoodlevel realities of heat risk and vulnerability. Delhi's Heat Action Plans, like many across India, are still primarily guided by ambient temperature data and emergency response mechanisms. This makes a strong case for placing citizen-centred evidence at the heart of effective and equitable climate action.