Figuring Out with Raj Shamani How Extreme Heat Is Becoming India’s $180 Billion Problem | Arunabha Ghosh | FO580 Raj Shamani
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Oct 27, 2026 
Arunabha Ghosh, climate and energy policy expert and former Council on Energy, Environment and Water CEO, explores India’s extreme-heat crisis and its economic stakes. They discuss heat stress, lost productivity, AI-powered local response plans, unpredictable monsoons, pollution, energy security, and the global climate power struggle. The conversation also examines geoengineering, climate-tech opportunities, and cooler homes through smarter design.
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The Past No Longer Predicts Weather
- Climate instability makes historical averages unreliable for planning infrastructure, agriculture, and public services.
- Districts once known for drought increasingly experience floods, forcing administrations to prepare for unfamiliar risks.
Warming Nights Make Heat More Dangerous
- Heat is becoming more dangerous because nights are warming, leaving bodies less time to recover.
- Reduced nighttime cooling increases health risks and compounds crop losses across successive seasons.
Heat Stress Threatens India’s Growth Engine
- Extreme heat reduces outdoor labor capacity, delays construction, and creates cascading economic losses.
- India could lose 30–40 million work mandates while rising air-conditioning demand intensifies urban heat islands.