An enormous problem that requires novel work and low-cost solutions.
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In Lal Matti, an informal settlement of tin-roofed homes in this coastal city, summer can be unbearable. Before the monsoon rains arrive, temperatures can top 37°C, with humidity at a sweltering 95%. The hot, muggy afternoons are particularly oppressive, says Tamrunissa, a young woman who lives with her extended family in a large room above a shop, accessed by a ladder. Despite running three small ceiling fans all day—the family can’t afford an air conditioner—she often gets headaches from the heat, and her children fall sick. Her elderly father, who has diabetes and high blood pressure, retreats to an alcove below the apartment to nap. “He can’t handle the heat up here,” she says.
Sometimes, Mumbai’s heat becomes deadly. In April, on a day the temperature reached 36°C, 11 people sitting through an hourslong outdoor ceremony died from heat stroke. At least 20 others were hospitalized.
Indians are increasingly at risk from extreme heat and heat waves that are more frequent and last longer. The country saw a 55% rise in heat-related deaths between 2000–04 and 2017–21, according to research published last year in The Lancet. Global warming will continue to elevate the risks, particularly in India’s fast-growing urban areas, where heat-absorbing tar and concrete boost temperatures. By 2025, cities are expected to house more than half of India’s population, now at 1.7 billion.
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