Clay walls, check dams and neem leaves: Rural India fights extreme heat with age-old wisdom

New Delhi: As India braces itself for the upcoming scorching summers, rural communities across heatwave-prone states are turning to traditional and low-cost solutions to shield themselves from rising temperatures.

From building check dams to planting native trees and adjusting daily routines, villagers are crafting ground-up heat resilience where formal cooling infrastructure is scarce.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the number of heatwave days is likely to increase by up to 7-8 days in northern and western India, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district which is among the hottest districts in the country saw temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius last year.

In the Bijadandi block of Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district, Malati Yadav remembers a time when water was a rare luxury in her small village.

"There was a severe water crisis in our village. Those who woke up first got water, the rest didn't," she says.

Seema Nargave, a resident of Bhagsur village in Barwani's Rajpur block, described that even walls "felt like they were on fire till 9-10 pm." However, many villagers like Malati and Seema are confronting the upcoming crisis with innovative and low-cost adaptations rooted in traditional knowledge.

Today, Malati and other women of her self-help group are working towards constructing check dams and reviving six village ponds.

"We now store rainwater to recharge the groundwater and our pumps. There's enough for everyone, even in summer," she said.

Seema explained that with a mix of brick and mud homes, families are turning to traditional architecture to beat the heat. "We coat our mud houses with cow dung and build small thatched rooms from 'Arhar stalks' to allow better ventilation," she says.

She said, "Our buffalo's skin burns from the heat and it stops giving milk. It's not just the animals. People, especially women, suffer too -- unable to work, cook, or step out during peak heat hours." Her family uses neem leaves and cotton cloths to keep livestock cool.

In Jharkhand's Garhwa district, farmers like 40-year-old Kunti Devi now begin their day before sunrise to avoid the punishing midday sun.

"I get dizzy in the fields by 10 am," she told PTI over the phone.

With no shelter and irregular water supply, she and her neighbours rely on natural remedies. "We drink chaach (buttermilk), eat light meals and try to stay under tree shade as the heat becomes unbearable," she said.

In Uttar Pradesh's Bundelkhand region, known for its parched summers and agrarian distress, farmers are increasingly turning to deep-rooted native trees like ber, neem and aam for shade and resilience.

But Ghamandi Lal, a small farmer from Lalitpur in Madhya Pradesh, said even that's becoming harder.

"Buying saplings is expensive, and because livestock numbers have fallen, we don't even get enough gobar (manure) anymore. It's a cycle, heat is killing our crops and our ability to fight it."

Lal's worries reflect a deeper malaise.

"Our fields are getting harder. We use more fertiliser and pesticides now, which makes things worse. There are no subsidies for buying climate-resilient plants," he said.

The cost of maintaining livestock has also risen. "The fodder is too expensive. Even cows are giving less milk because of the heat," he added.

In Maharashtra's Bobalwadi village, Sakela Bhatnagar spreads mango and palash leaves over tin roofs to keep homes cool.

"We also plant trees like sitaphal and aam not just for business, but for shade," she said.

According to Neeraja Kudrimoti, Associate Director at Transform Rural India, such community-led adaptations are vital. "Rural India, where much of the population is engaged in outdoor manual work, lacks access to cooling infrastructure and reliable electricity. Heat waves are not only causing illness but also leading to economic disruptions," she said.

Kudrimoti called for localised Heat Action Plans, improved water security, and social protection schemes prioritising rural populations.

In many districts, authorities are waking up to the urgency.

"Government advisories now restrict outdoor work from 12 noon to 4 pm during yellow and orange heatwave alerts," said Vishwas Chitale, Senior Programme Lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

"But we must go further. Rural areas need cooling shelters, clean drinking water, and thermal comfort zones to protect their most vulnerable," he added As cities install mist fans and green corridors, rural India is relying on their traditional wisdom and the strength of collective action.

"Resilience isn't always about high-tech solutions. Sometimes, it's a clay wall, a neem leaf, or a shared pond that holds the key to survival," Kunti Devi said.