Some work through the heat. Others can afford not to.

Over the past two decades, average urban temperatures in Bengaluru and Colombo have risen by more than 1.5°C. With denser construction, loss of tree cover, shrinking water bodies, and worsening air pollution, our cities are retaining more heat and releasing it more slowly. This goes to the root of how our cities breathe, how our bodies recover, and who gets to cope and who doesn’t.

But the impact of urban heat is uneven. It’s shaped by where we live, how we work, what we can afford, and what support systems we can rely on. For many across both cities, there are no real choices, only trade-offs between discomfort, income, and health.

Who gets to escape, and who can’t?

While some of us can move indoors, switch on fans or air-conditioners, and rearrange our schedules, many others, such as gig workers, domestic workers, sanitation staff, and construction labourers, continue to stay exposed. Public shade structures are rare, heat-protective infrastructure is absent, and there are no formal systems to acknowledge or address heat-related risks.

Homes that trap heat instead of releasing it

In dense, low-income neighbourhoods and informal settlements, homes made of tin, asbestos, or uninsulated concrete become heat traps. Nights bring little relief. Heat-related sleep disruption, dehydration, and chronic fatigue are common, with no policy frameworks to respond.

It shows up in the gaps

Urban heat is not always visible. It shows up in school classrooms with tin roofs, in public hospitals with no cooling systems, in daily commutes without shade or rest points. It affects productivity, learning, health, and care, but remains under-addressed in most urban planning and climate governance efforts.

Gendered burdens, invisible labour

In many working-class households, women shift chores to off-peak hours, cooking in poorly ventilated kitchens late at night or early in the morning. The links between heat stress, domestic strain, and gender-based violence remain under-researched and rarely integrated into formal heat action plans.

Not just an environmental issue

Urban heat as an issue intersects with livelihoods, housing, education, care, and inequality. It forces us to ask hard questions about what cities are built for, and who they serve. It forces us to ask hard questions about what our cities are designed for, and who is considered in that design.

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