Fire in April: Is India heading into a permanent climate crisis?

By nature, April is the last frontier of spring in India. A bit more sunlight, a bit dryness in the air, but still tolerable. At least that used to be the case. But in early April 2025, a large part of the country has become a hot volcano. Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal—somewhere the temperature has touched 44 degrees, somewhere it has touched 46. The government weather department has stated that the average temperature is the highest in the past 125 years. But the temperature is not a figure, it has an unexplainable effect on life, livelihood, and society.

Heat waves are no longer a disaster of one day, but the consequence of a long-term change. The effect of global warming has become so severe over the Indian continent that nature's seasonal cycle is disintegrating. The warmth experienced in May-June is now experienced in late March and early April.  Due to this, the cycle of farming, public health, working hours—everything is getting disturbed. Not only the heat, but additionally, the growing water crisis, food security uncertainty, power losses, and housing system instability. That is, a heat wave is placing pressure on several social and economic levels at the same time.

Pressure is not equally falling on all levels. For those people who have AC at home, whose offices are air-conditioned, and whose drinking water supply is uninterrupted—this heat wave is an uncomfortable experience but a tolerable one. But for individuals who operate shops on sidewalks, agricultural workers, everyday wage laborers, and contract laborers—this heat is a sort of hell. When the temperature increases, not only do the body fall ill, but livelihoods are brought to a halt. Work must be halted, income is reduced, there are delays in reaching the hospital, and sometimes even death results. But these individuals are the least guilty of the climate crisis.

What is the government doing in this case? The question is significant, as India, like other nations in the world, is also joining global deliberations on climate change, vowing to cut emissions. But more significant than the vow is execution. Power generation on the basis of coal is on the rise, there is no specific effort to cut emissions from vehicles, urbanization is taking place in a totally unplanned manner. Instead, forests are being felled in the name of large projects, wetlands are being encroached upon. Nature's natural defense mechanism is being demolished in the name of civic growth. This tree-cutting spree in the name of urban development is making cities 'heat islands'.

The scenario of Indian cities is even worse. Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai—everywhere, the temperature is rising day by day, and there is less greenery. The heat radiated by buildings, roads, vehicles—everything is turning the city hot, yes, but also uninhabitable. There is no water, no shade, no air—the city is a hot gas chamber. Still, those who are responsible for the policy of constructing this city are mostly quiet. Ecological safety schemes are still restricted to only a few sporadic initiatives.

Another serious effect of the heat wave is on agriculture. Heat stress is checking the growth of crops, halting flowering, and diminishing crop yields. Particularly boro rice, wheat, and mustard—these weather-sensitive crops are seriously suffering. Boro rice production in eastern India has declined by around 12% this year, while most of the wheat crops in western India have perished. This is not only a loss for the farmers, but also a big indicator of food security. If this trend continues, it will be hard to provide food supply for the next generation. The health sector too is devastated. Government hospitals are filled to the brim with patients with heatstroke, dehydration, and heatstroke. The death toll in some places has exceeded 50 in a week. Enhanced stress on health personnel, multi-fold rise in the demand for medication, and heat wave-related chronic diseases—all of this heat wave is a great crisis for the health sector.

How do we ease this crisis? Talking at international forums will not help save the climate. We require adaptation measures at the local level, good urban planning, pragmatic projects to save water in rural belts, and most of all, political will. No future can be imagined without keeping development in tune with the environment. The government must realize how crucial the distinction between 'environmentally friendly' and 'environmentally destructive development' is.

Currently, we require science-led decisions, policy-making based on data, and adaptation strategies involving people. Every state must have a heat action plan, in which it will be clearly spelt out as to how activity will be ceased during a heat wave, when workers will be provided with opportunity to rest, and where supply of water would be guaranteed. If heat waves can be foretold, then their reaction and cures must also be planned beforehand.

As heat waves are directly proportional to climate change, the efforts of citizens also play an important role in the battle against it. Planting trees, conserving water, collecting rainwater on rooftops, using renewable energy rather than electric fuel—these can be productive even at an individual level. But they are insufficient if the government does not make efforts at a mass scale.

It appears that we are heading into an age when summer will be nine months long and the other three months will be a survival preparation period.

But this is not an age of excuses, but an age of responsibility. Because nature has delivered its message, now it is our turn. The choice is ours—will we succumb to this crisis, or will we develop resistance against it and create a habitable India for the generations to come?