Heat on us

As summer sets in, a familiar spectre returns to the Indian subcontinent: the brutal, unrelenting heat.

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Only this time, the science says it will be worse – and more lethal. Climate models are no longer predictive suggestions but urgent warnings. Yet our national response remains disturbingly tepid. The truth is undeniable. India is heating faster than the global average, and its poorest are on the frontline of a crisis they did not cause. Heatwaves, once an occasional extreme, are becoming seasonal norms. This year, large swathes of the country are likely to see record-breaking temperatures. The cost, both human and economic, will be devastating. And yet, this looming catastrophe receives neither the political attention nor policy urgency it demands.