India, May 12 -- India entered yet another summer marked by record-breaking temperatures with states already recording heat wave conditions. However, even as state governments announce increasingly ambitious interventions, experts have told Down To Earth that the gap between policy and implementation remains the country's biggest climate governance challenge.

This is especially concerning as India remains among the countries most vulnerable to heat stress. Heat exposure has led to the loss of 247 billion potential labour hours in 2024, marking a record high and a 124 per cent increase compared to 1990-1999 levels, according to the 2025 edition of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change.

In March 2026, there was an unusual rise...