The Heat Dome Files: What Europe Can Learn From India
7/2/202626 min
Europe's latest heatwave is expected to leave behind a staggering human toll. But beyond the immediate crisis, it is raising a broader question: are countries prepared for a world where extreme heat becomes routine?
While much of the conversation around climate change focuses on emissions, a parallel challenge is emerging around adaptation. From city design and public health systems to early warning mechanisms and heat action plans, governments are being forced to rethink how they prepare for rising temperatures.
In this episode of The Morning Brief, Anirban Chowdhury sits down with Karsten Haustein, a Research Scientist at Leipzig University, and Vishwas Chitale, Chairman of the GHHIN South Asia Heat Health Hub. Together, they discuss the science behind Europe's heatwave, why humidity and warm nights are making heat more dangerous, and what lessons other countries can learn from India's growing experience in managing extreme heat."
You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin
Check out other interesting episodes like:ET Deep Dive: Swipe Left on Reality,India wants manufacturing at 25% of GDP — will AI in factories help?, Tanay Kothari Wants To Kill The Keyboard,From Doer to Director: The LinkedIn Playbook for the AI Agea, Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks and much more.
Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAnirban Chaudhuri· Host0:00
[intro music] Europe is burning, literally. Over the past fortnight, a punishing heat dome has parked itself over the continent, pushing temperatures in parts of France, scorching forty-four to forty-five degree Celsius, shattering records in Germany weeks before its usual peak, and rolling eastward through the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and the UK. Excess deaths have already crossed a thousand, with experts warning that the final toll could run into the tens of thousands. This has echoes of the catastrophic two thousand and three heatwave that killed seventy thousand people, most of them in France. And this isn't a one-off. It's in fact the sharpest sign yet of a constantly warming planet impacting cities and systems that are grossly underprepared. Today on the Morning Brief, we ask what exactly is driving this, and can Europe learn anything from a country that's been living with extreme heat for decades? India. It's Thursday, the second of July. I'm Anirban Chaudhuri. This is the Morning Brief. [intro music] To break down the meteorology