India, May 16 -- India's urban commute is being reshaped by a factor that mobility systems were never designed for: heat exposure. For decades, city transport was optimised around distance, speed, and capacity. But in a warming environment, a more critical variable is emerging: time spent exposed to heat during transit. And this shift forces us to fundamentally rethink how cities move.

India has experienced increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 45-50degC across several regions. Estimates suggest that over 1,000 people die on average each year due to heatwaves, alongside tens of thousands of heatstroke cases annually, including more than 40,000 reported in 2024 alone. Nearly 57% of ...