Air conditioning is no longer just a comfort metric in India; it is a socio-economic divide, Nithin Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, pointed out in a viral post reflecting on India’s relentless warming trend.
Kamath pointed out that despite massive strides in national electrification, access to cooling remains heavily concentrated among the wealthy. He argued that basic fans do little to combat the modern climate crisis, leaving more than 40% of the population in outdoor sectors like agriculture entirely exposed to dangerous thermal shocks, with no safety net.
‘Staying indoors, a luxury…’: Nithin Kamath
India has been consistently warming up, said in an X post. “Decade after decade, temperatures have been rising, and this is a one-way journey unless humanity makes a dramatic course correction.”
He noted that all the heatwave deaths that are in the news are the result of relentless warming.
“You will see a lot of numbers floating around, especially the recent viral study that a single day of extreme heat causes roughly 3,400 excess deaths across India, and a five-day nearly 30,000,” Kamath said. “But the truth is, we still don’t have good statistics on how many Indians are losing their lives because of heatwaves.”
The Zerodha co-founder highlighted that the vast majority of Indian employment remains informal. “The number of people employed in agriculture, construction, gig work, and other outdoor work remains disproportionately high,” he said.
He also noted that India has come a long way, “but this is still the reality for a very large number of Indians.” — “For many Indians, staying indoors when temperatures rise is simply not a luxury they can afford.”
‘Fans only do so much’
Nithin Kamath also noted that there is a deep inequality in access to cooling.
“Yes, the fact that almost all of India has been electrified is a genuine achievement,” he said. “But access to air coolers, let alone air conditioners, is still low and mostly concentrated among people with higher incomes.”
“Fans only do so much when the heat is this brutal,” Kamath said. “This is the inequality of heat.”
“People with good incomes can afford coolers and ACs. They can work from home and can avoid the worst hours of the day. But this is a small subset of India,” he said.
‘People who will be hit the hardest are the poorest Indians’
Nithin Kamath highlighted that more than 40% of Indians are still employed in agriculture, even though agriculture’s share of India’s GDP has consistently declined.
“These are the real Indians who will be most affected by rising temperatures,” he said.
Kamath noted that many of the regions most exposed to climatic shocks like El Niño and heatwaves are also among the poorer regions of northern India. “So the people who will be hit the hardest by rising temperatures are the poorest Indians, across regions that are yet to see real prosperity.”
‘Plant trees’
Nithin Kamath called for systemic change, but until then, he urged people to plant trees wherever possible to make a small difference on a personal level.
“Sadly, this is a systemic crisis. Individual actions help, but they are not enough,” he said. “We need collective action, not just at a country level, but at a global level. is not an Indian problem but a global problem.”
“There is a lot of debate and controversy over India’s forest cover and whether it has increased or decreased. But when it comes to cities, we can see the loss of green cover firsthand,” he said. “Trees are cut to make way for roads, houses, flyovers, and buildings. Whatever few trees remain are often trapped under pavements and concrete. This weakens them. This is one reason why trees often fall even after moderate rains.”
Kamath said there are some low-hanging fruit that can start making a difference.
“If you have space, you can plant native species like neem, moringa, jamun, amla, and curry leaves. These trees have deep roots and can survive better,” he said. “People often avoid planting trees because they worry that the roots will damage the foundations of their homes. But in many cases, this fear is overstated.”
“These are small things which help,” he pressed, noting that the problem ultimately needs systemic, collective action at a global level.
“Judging by the way the world is heading, it is very hard to have hope,” Kamath said. “Rising temperatures are a serious challenge. They don’t have easy explanations, and they definitely don’t have easy solutions.”