Goa, Nov. 3 -- SIDDHARTH DESAI

Climate change is no longer an abstract or distant global dilemma. Across our cities and towns, we feel its disruptions daily through unseasonal heat spikes, deteri orating air quality, freshwater stress, urban waterlogging, and mounting strain on basic civic infrastructure. The critical chal lenge today is not merely mak ing ambitious pledges at inter national forums, but ensuring those commitments translate into tangible, ground-level ac tion. Marking a decisive step in this direction, the ARISE Cities Forum 2026 was recently con vened in New Delhi.

Organised by ICLEI South Asia in collab oration with the National In stitute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affai...