Endless Summer

This summer has not crept in; it has crashed through the door. With 95 of the world’s 100 hottest cities in India and temperatures already crossing 45°C in several regions, what we are witnessing is not just another heatwave. It is a pattern we can no longer afford to normalise.

From Delhi touching 42.8°C to Prayagraj soaring past 45°C, the spread is worrying. But the real red flag is the rise of “warm nights” across Delhi, Haryana and Odisha. When nights refuse to cool, the body never recovers. Heat stops being an inconvenience and becomes a health risk, especially for the elderly, children, and those living without reliable electricity or ventilation. In coastal states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, humidity only makes matters worse, pushing the “feels like” temperature into dangerous territory.

And yet, our response remains painfully predictable. Stay indoors. Drink water. Avoid stepping out. Sensible advice, yes, but also deeply disconnected from reality. For millions who work outdoors or in informal sectors, staying home is not caution; it is lost income.

We know the triggers. Dry winds from Rajasthan, clear skies, fewer western disturbances. But to list climate change as just another factor is to miss the point. A steady rise in temperatures over decades, with most of the warmest years recorded recently, tells us this is no longer a future threat. It is here, shaping our present.

The consequences are already unfolding. Wheat crops are under stress, water shortages loom, and electricity demand is spiking. Our cities, built with little thought for heat, are turning into concrete traps.

India does not lack plans. It lacks urgency. Until heat resilience becomes central to policy, rather than an afterthought, we will keep responding to each summer as if it were a surprise. It is not. And pretending otherwise is the real danger.