Climate change exacerbates brutal heat wave in India

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Some local governments are trying to adjust to the extreme heat. In May 2010, Ahmedabad, a city in western India, experienced a particularly devastating heat wave, with the official death toll reaching 800 and up to 1,300 deaths. attributed to him indirectly. In 2013, the city launched heat action planwhich included early warning systems for residents, training for healthcare workers, and facilities for natural cooling of buildings.

Since then, other local governments have followed suit and developed their own plans, but some hope to see more national action to help people adjust to the heat, Mondal says.

Cutting emissions will help prevent the worst-case warming scenarios in the future, but the current reality is already hard for many to bear. And the deadly heat in India is just one example of who will be most affected by climate change.

“This heatwave will affect 1.4 billion people, most of whom have contributed very little to global warming,” says Mondal. “This phenomenon should put an end to the question of why people should care about climate change.”