India, July 5 -- Every summer in India now arrives with a new record. In February 2025, for the first time in recorded history, India experienced a heatwave during what is generally defined as winter season. In 2024, between March and June, 37 cities crossed 45 degrees Celsius and thousands of suspected heatstroke cases were recorded. Colleagues at CARBSE, CEPT's center for building science and energy research, have documented in detail that the cooling demands on Indian cities is rising steadily as the heat arrives earlier, stays longer, and does not cool down at night like it once did.

Cities are responding. More than 250 cities and districts across the country now have some form of Heat Action Plan. Climate Action Plans are being prep...