Climate Change - Question of Cities

Five issues missing from our conversations on heat

The rising temperatures and heat waves are taking a toll on people across India. Last summer, at least 733 heat-related deaths and more than 40,000 heatstroke cases were recorded in 17 states between March and June, a report showed. Temperatures…

Climate’s sizzling frontier: Northeast heats up, must plan with nature

Summer temperatures have risen to record highs and, importantly, nights have become warmer in Guwahati with the rapid urbanisation. People have taken to air conditioners and cold drinking water. Guwahati is not alone. From Shillong’s hills to Aizawl’s ridges to…

‘Coping with heat isn’t an individual problem, it’s a systemic challenge’

The unequal impact of heat on the marginalised in India’s cities is no longer in question. The chasm is deepening between those who can escape heat stress and those forced to work despite extreme heat. Apekshita Varshney, founder of non-profit…

How Delhi’s poor and homeless beat the heat on their own

The country’s capital recorded this year’s first heat wave in early April, with temperatures touching 40.2 degrees Celsius. With summer making an early and harsh onset, the most vulnerable people – the homeless – have only themselves to rely upon…

Physical space and mobility top two challenges for children in 300+ cities: LSE research

How the built environment and policy decisions of cities can support or hinder healthy early childhood development and what city officials identify as the biggest challenges were subjects of research analyses from 358 cities across 75 countries at LSE Cities,…

‘Deep flaw or blind spot in Indian environmentalism is that it largely ignored cities’

Cities built at the cost of ecology are becoming uninhabitable and unsustainable. Between the Gandhian perspective which is hostile to city life and the other that cities are engines of growth, both flawed, cities face ecological crisis and issues of…

Feminism meets environmentalism but women left out of decision-making

As women, across barriers of caste and class and other social indices, assert themselves, they also touch upon environmental issues that are deeply tied to their lives, living conditions, work and more. They raise voices as women demanding gender justice…

Fighting erosion, climate change in the Sundarbans

The people of the Sundarbans show how they are the force of resilience, battling cyclones, and disrupted livelihoods. Adopting nature-based solutions, they use vetiver as a powerful natural tool to combat soil erosion and understand that protecting the streambanks from…

Mainstreaming green buildings in climate era

More than two decades later, certified green or sustainable buildings account for just over five percent of the constructed stock in India. While the two rating systems, the Indian Green Building Council and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment, have…

Moving towards sustainable goals brick by brick

The green building movement has been gaining momentum in India with governments doling out incentives. A recent report ranks India third in the world for certified green buildings. However, outdated bye-laws of urban local bodies and the lack of awareness…