India, May 14 -- Our primary response to this rising mercury has been individualistic: reliance on air conditioning.

For affluent classes, AC is a non-negotiable shield. But this creates a stark divide. While private interiors are cooled, public exteriors remain exposed. Thermal comfort has effectively been privatised, while thermal stressis left to those who cannot opt out: delivery workers, street vendors, and factory and construction workers. Environmental risk, much like financial risk, is increasingly stratified - with the thermal tax falling disproportionately on those who cannot opt out.

But this divide is not just a moral issue; it is a financial liability. Heat is a silent productivity killer that threatens the very engine of g...