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Harvard faculty visit Ahmedabad to study extreme heat
The two-day immersion trip preceded the Mittal Institute’s flagship conference, India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future, held in New Delhi.
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Malvika Choudhary - Mon, 07, Apr 2025
- 13:49 EDT
- 56
Harvard faculty and affiliates visit the Dada Hari stepwell in Ahmedabad, India. / Photo credit: David Trilling | The Salata Institute
A group of nearly two dozen Harvard University faculty members, affiliates, and climate philanthropists visited Ahmedabad last month to understand how communities in India are coping with extreme heat.
The two-day immersion trip preceded the Mittal Institute’s flagship conference, India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future, held in New Delhi. The visit aimed to provide on-the-ground insights into heat adaptation strategies ahead of high-level discussions.
Also Read: Yale delegation visits India for academic partnerships
The delegation began their visit with a sunrise tour of the historic Dada Hari stepwell, led by photographer and author Claudio Cambon, who has extensively documented India’s stepwells. The stepwell served as a lens to explore traditional architecture’s role in climate resilience.
The group then met with informal workers—broom makers, cobblers, and street vendors—through an engagement hosted by the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), which supports grassroots responses to climate challenges. Discussions focused on the physical, mental, and economic toll of extreme heat, and how micro-loans for tools like umbrellas are helping build resilience.
At CEPT University, participants learned about Ahmedabad’s pioneering 2013 Heat Action Plan from professor Dileep Mavalankar and toured the heat lab at the Center for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (CARBSE), led by Professor Rajan Rawal.
On the second day, the delegation visited the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to observe the impact of heat on women workers in the informal economy. Harvard professors Satchit Balsari and Caroline Buckee shared insights from Community HATS, a study tracking heat and humidity exposure experienced by women across varied work environments.
The visit concluded with a stop at the Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram, offering a historical perspective on the intersection of public service and social resilience.
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