Years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense in the country.
On India’s hot plains, scorching summers have become increasingly harder to endure, requiring adaptations and forcing life into the hours of dark before the sun turns punishing.
“We try to adjust, but the traditional ways to combat heat are not working,” said 26-year-old herdsman Sawai Bhati Singh, who lives outside the desert city of Jaisalmer, in the western state of Rajasthan.
“Every year the heat is increasing.”
His home, made of thick stone blocks with few windows, helps keep some of the furnace-like heat out. But temperatures inside are still stifling.
