How can India prepare its cities for severe heatwaves?

Mashable spoke to locals and experts to find out what those in charge are doing to protect their citizens from extreme heat.
By Teodosia Dobriyanova  on 
A still image showing a main road in New Delhi in the heat. Caption reads: "heat relief"
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By 2050, more than 68 percent of humanity is expected to live in urban areas. But are our cities prepared for all the challenges this entails? This Mashable series explores how our cities can become more sustainable and equitable homes to their human and non-human inhabitants.


The way we build our cities turns them into unbearable heat-trapping greenhouses — a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. As global temperatures rise, some cities could become unliveable unless we learn how to cool them sustainably. Mashable's How to Change a City series dedicates three of its episodes to this issue, exploring how cities can sustainably combat the urban heat island effect.


Climate change has ensured that heatwaves in India grow longer and more severe. In April, much of the country experienced consistently high temperatures earlier than usual, and many areas that tend to rely on the seasonal rain for heat relief instead faced dry conditions.

As temperatures in India soar once again, Mashable spoke to locals and experts to find out what city administrations are doing to protect their citizens from extreme heat.

Picture of Teodosia
Teodosia Dobriyanova
Video Producer

Teodosia is a video producer at Mashable UK, focussing on stories about climate resilience, urban development, and social good.


More from How to Change a City
How can we adapt cities to extreme heat?
A black and white illustration explains the heat island effect. In the middle, there's a dense city emitting heat where temperatures are at 35 degrees Celsius (95 F), while the surrounding countryside is much cooler, at 25 degrees Celsius (77 F)

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