Climate resilience: Why the lived experiences of people should guide policy responses to heat waves

As the India Meteorological Department warns of above- normal temperatures across much of India in the coming weeks, the country is once again preparing for a hotter summer. But for many Indians, rising heat is more than a seasonal forecast; it shapes everyday life.Climate change is no longer an abstract environmental challenge.

It is experienced through heat stress, illness, income loss and rising energy costs. In cities such as Delhi, rising temperatures are already reshaping daily routines, from when people work and travel to how households cope inside their homes.However, a persistent gap remains between climate ambition and ground outcomes.

This gap widens when policies and programmes are not designed around how people actually experience heat in their everyday lives, masking the uneven, neighbourhood-level realities of heat risk and vulnerability. Delhi’s Heat Action Plans, like many across India, are still primarily guided by ambient temperature data and emergency response mechanisms.

This makes a strong case for placing citizen-centred evidence at the heart of effective and equitable climate action.A report by Artha Global, Mapping Heat Inequality across Neighbourhoods in Delhi, showcased that even when reported temperatures are uniform across a city, climate risk is experienced very differently across households; exposure is shaped by micro-climate conditions and urban form (density, building materials, tree cover and access to open spaces), while coping capacity and outcomes are determined by socioeconomic characteristics and access to adaptation measures such as cooling appliances and technologies.Neighbourhood-level patterns show how urban design shapes everyday heat exposure. Areas where built-up land rises