Although this year rain came early and saved us from encountering the toughest days of summer, we still need to think about the future. This time the early monsoon brought significant benefits, including fewer heat-related illnesses, improved soil moisture for agriculture and reduced energy demand for cooling. However, we have to be prepared for summers in the coming years.
The recent survey report of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) also indicates the same possibility. The report states that extreme heat now poses a risk to 57% of Indian districts – home to 76% of the population. With Indian cities and districts increasingly navigating complex and erratic climate patterns, the need for heat-resilient planning and governance becomes urgent.
Today’s challenges are multifaceted. Especially, the early arrival of the rainy season also has been a cause for new challenges. Our agriculture sector has experienced a mixed impact from early and increased rainfall.
While the early monsoon has mostly led to increased soil moisture and facilitated timely sowing of ‘Kharif’ crops – some areas have also faced challenges due to uneven distribution, flooding, and unseasonal rains. Just for example: i) in Maharashtra, early sowing has been possible due to the monsoon, but farmers are also facing challenges with uneven rainfall and potential crop damage; ii) Bihar and Jharkhand, where a significant portion of the population relies on rain-fed agriculture, has experienced delays in sowing due to the monsoon’s erratic behaviour; and iii) Some areas in central and eastern India have seen a slowdown in sowing progress compared to 2024. One of the reasons behind the swearing prices of tomato these days across the country is also excessive rainfall in key tomato-producing regions like in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which has damaged crops, leading to supply shortages.
Climate is changing and we can’t reverse that. Thus, we will have to concentrate more on adopting modern cultivation techniques. Thus, we need to focus more on Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), where the HVAC industry will have a major role to play in the coming days.
Pravita Iyer
Publisher & Director
