Climate Archives • The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute

Harvard Faculty Visit Ahmedabad, India, to Understand Extreme Heat Impacts

Apr 3, 2025 | Climate, Faculty, India, News

In advance of the Mittal Institute’s major New Delhi conference last month, “India 2047: Building a Climate-Resilient Future,” a group of nearly two dozen Harvard faculty, affiliates, and climate philanthropists spent two days on an extreme heat immersion trip in the city of Ahmedabad, India. The two days provided unique opportunities to dive more deeply into heat adaptation policies and practices in India, both centuries-old and modern.

India 2047: Four-day convening in New Delhi brings together 180 scholars to advance climate resilience in India and beyond

Apr 3, 2025 | Climate, Community, Faculty, India, News

From March 19-22, more than 180 scholars and experts from Harvard and around the world gathered in New Delhi, India, for one of the largest events Harvard has ever hosted outside the United States. Leading experts in climate science, public health, medicine, labor, business, agriculture, and urban planning convened for “India 2047 – Building a Climate-Resilient Future,” a series of interdisciplinary dialogues on advancing climate resilience.

Harvard Researchers Broaden Study on Extreme Heat’s Effects on Health and Livelihoods

Mar 11, 2025 | Climate, India, News

Climate projections indicate that South Asia will face an increasing number of extremely hot days, posing severe direct and indirect threats to human health and livelihoods. However, traditional temperature measurements—whether from weather stations or satellites—fail to capture the localized effects of extreme heat. Enter the Heat Adaptation and Treatment Strategies (CommunityHATS) study, an initiative that follows hundreds of women working in the informal economy across a variety of indoor and outdoor environments in South Asia to provide a granular understanding of how extreme heat and humidity are truly experienced at the community level.

Climate-Resilient Trekking in Nepal: A Grant Report by Allen Wang, MDes ‘25

Feb 10, 2025 | Climate, Nepal, News, Students

The Mittal Institute awarded 14 student grants this winter, allowing students to set out for locations across South Asia to complete research, internships, or language studies. Allen Wang, a Master in Design Studies (Ecologies) student from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, traveled to Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara to complete a research project, “A climate-resilient future for the trekking industry in Nepals Everest region.” Allen details his experience in this grant report.

Announcing the Inaugural Recipients of the Mittal Institute Faculty Climate Research Grants

Feb 6, 2025 | Announcements, Climate, Faculty, News

The Mittal Institute is pleased to announce its first recipients of the Faculty Climate Research Grants. These grants are designed to foster deeper scholarly engagement on climate change, catalyze the creation of new knowledge, and contribute to the development of sustainable solutions across South Asia. Projects focused on three main research categories: energy transition and energy policy; food systems, agriculture, and land use; and law and policy for climate transition and adaptation.

17 Harvard Faculty Join Climate Platform as Affiliates

Feb 4, 2025 | Announcements, Climate, Faculty, News

This academic year, 17 Harvard faculty have joined the Mittal Institute Climate Platform as new affiliates, greatly increasing the platform’s reach and expertise.

Climate Insights: Book Recommendations from Harvard Faculty

Feb 4, 2025 | Climate, Community, News

Over the last few weeks, 17 Harvard faculty have joined the Mittal Institute Climate Platform as new affiliates, greatly increasing the platform’s reach and expertise. Now, these affiliates are sharing some of their top climate reads. Stay informed on the climate crisis, its global impacts, and some meaningful actions you can take. Enjoy the list!

Mittal Institute Hosts Faculty Dialogues Centered on Climate Change in South Asia

Jan 17, 2025 | Climate, Faculty, News

In the fall semester of 2024, the Mittal Institute started hosting Climate Dialogues, a series of closed-door events centering South Asia in the climate change conversation. The talks feature Harvard faculty speakers from across the University in an informal environment that includes a dinner. They enable faculty, as well as affiliates of the Mittal Institute Climate Platform, to engage in interdisciplinary dialogues and forge connections and research collaborations.

Column in Business Today Magazine: “How To Adapt To Extreme Heat”

Jan 13, 2025 | Announcements, Climate, India, News, South Asia in the News

In a column in the Business Today Magazine, Prof. Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School and faculty director of the Mittal Institute, highlights the challenges of extreme heat and how awareness, information, and experimentation are needed to address the problem.

The Impact of Climate Change on Child Development: A Spotlight on the Work of Mittal Institute Associate Fatima Zahra

Nov 18, 2024 | Associates, Bangladesh, Climate, News

Dr. Fatima Zahra, a Mittal Institute Associate, spearheads research at the intersection of human development, labor markets, and artificial intelligence with a focus on the future of learning and work. Several of her projects look at Bangladesh, where she is originally from, including her studies on how climate change impacts child development and what employment barriers Rohingya fathers face in refugee camps. The Mittal Institute spoke with her about her motivation and approach to study climate change in Bangladesh and how socioeconomic and political factors are essential to understanding its impacts.

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone and the Birth of Bangladesh

Nov 5, 2024 | Announcements, Bangladesh, Climate, Faculty, News, Pakistan

In 1970, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) was hit by a cyclone that killed 300,000 to 500,000 people. Prof. Mushfiq Mobarak, Yale University, and Prof. Sultan Mehmood, New Economic School of Moscow, provide empirical evidence that the cyclone’s devastation and the Pakistani government’s “callous response” to it were instrumental in galvanizing support for an independence movement. The two authors share their work in this Q+A ahead of a November 15 Joint Seminar on South Asian Politics.

Waste Pickers and Methane Emissions

Oct 26, 2024 | Climate, Faculty, In Region, India, News

In an essay for the 1800 Histories project based at the Harvard Center for History and Economics, which explores the local conditions at key sites that play a disproportionate role in methane emissions, WIEGO founder and Mittal Institute Steering Committee member Martha Chen writes about the impact waste pickers have on methane emissions in Delhi, India.

Category : Climate