India, July 11 -- Take a walk in Delhi in May, and you'll notice the heat rising from the pavement even after dark. The air hangs heavy between the concrete buildings. In Bengaluru, people who once needed sweaters in the mornings now sweat through the night, since urban forests that once cooled the city have been replaced by new construction. In Hyderabad, students protested in April 2025 when 400 acres of green land were cleared for an IT park, a conflict that ultimately reached the Supreme Court.

These events are not happening in isolation. They are part of a bigger crisis across urban India: our cities are losing green spaces faster than they can be replaced, and the impact is now clear to everyone.

The numbers tell the story. A 2024...