In response to increasingly dangerous heatwaves, the Indian city of Ahmedabad has launched an innovative program using smartwatches to monitor the health of residents in one of its hottest and most vulnerable neighborhoods, Vanzara Vas. Over 200 participants are wearing smart devices that track real-time heart rates, sleep cycles, and movement to understand how extreme temperatures affect human physiology, especially in low-income, high-density areas. This effort, supported by international climate and health researchers, aims to generate data that can lead to early warnings and smarter public health responses. Additionally, a “cool roofs” program—where rooftops are painted with solar-reflective white paint—has shown a significant drop in indoor temperatures by 2 to 5°C, offering simple, low-cost relief from heat stress.
Ahmedabad has long been at the forefront of heat preparedness—it was the first South Asian city to implement a heat action plan after a deadly 2010 heatwave killed over 1,300 people. The smartwatch initiative marks a new chapter, combining wearable technology with urban planning to provide live, actionable data. This approach is particularly helpful in identifying how heat disproportionately affects people based on age, gender, occupation, and housing quality. The data also allows city authorities to fine-tune responses, such as opening cooling centers and targeting medical care. For other cities facing rising temperatures, the lesson is clear: technology, when paired with smart policy and community engagement, can provide powerful tools to protect public health. Scaling such programs globally could help cities prepare for more intense and frequent climate shocks. More