By Pallavi Rathod, Vaishali Tiwari, and Grace George of AIDMI, India

As extreme heat events become more frequent and intense across India, their impact on health, livelihoods, and informal economies in cities is escalating. Among those most affected are small, women-led businesses that operate in high-risk urban and rural environments without adequate protection or preparedness support. AIDMI undertook an initiative in 2023 to support small businesses for anticipatory actions and adapting to extreme heat. One strong need is about understanding, accessing and using extreme heat early warning for protecting health, family and small businesses.

The programme implemented a series of field consultations and training sessions, reaching over 1200 women leaders owning small businesses across multiple Indian cities from five states of India. These conversations combined scientific guidance, practical examples, and locally relevant case studies. A significant component introduced to small businesses about India’s efforts on extreme heat forecasting, particularly the early warning bulletins of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the digital alert platform SACHET developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with IMD.

Small businesses were introduced to the SACHET app, a centralised source of disaster-related alerts, including for extreme heat. While awareness of such platforms remains limited among grassroots users, such as small businesses or women, these efforts created a strong case for increasing outreach and usability. Small businesses appreciated how real-time alerts and advisories can support practical decisions to safeguard their health, manage household needs, and protect livelihoods.

Small businesses reflect that the six-day advance early warning information is really valuable. Small business owners highlighted that such lead time can be integrated into weekly planning—for example, adjusting stock purchases, securing shaded vending locations, or planning work shifts during cooler hours. This proactive approach can reduce spoilage of goods, mitigate income losses, protect health, reduce anxiety, and improve overall safety during extreme heat periods.

Equally important was the realisation that access to early warning is not sufficient unless accompanied by a proper understanding of its implications. Women business owners participants stressed the need for training not only on how to receive alerts but also on how to interpret them from the perspectives of health safety, family wellbeing, and income security. This understanding helps bridge the gap between information and action, transforming passive alerts into proactive decisions. Not only the last mile was reached, but also the last Indian before the disaster striked.

These field consultations revealed how important trust, format, and delivery methods are for early warning to be effective. Equally important are recognition of affected citizens’ ability to take anticipatory action. About the future needs, these small businesses preferred receiving alerts through familiar and widely used platforms, especially mobile messaging services. They called for concise, colour-coded messages supported by audio or visual cues and local language options. Many even suggested integrations with local education institutions, and health centres, where children, teachers, and health workers could act as messengers to reach family members, and society —a method that proved effective during public health campaigns.

Who is warning and who is being warned, both are important. When both act in unity, as a team, early warning becomes anticipatory action.

Many community leaders expressed a strong interest in becoming peer educators themselves, recognising the potential for localised leadership in disseminating early warning information. This shift from recipient to trainer suggests a powerful pathway for scaling community-owned climate resilience.

Another major insight was the synergy between early warning, anticipatory action, and financial resilience tools like insurance. Many participants emphasised that while alerts are crucial, communities also need resources to act. Risk transfer through insurance and small grants was discussed as key enablers that would allow vulnerable households and businesses to prepare and respond more effectively.

Extreme heat affected population using early warning offers lucid, compelling, and e-learning insights into the frontiers of early warning experiences of millions of Indians across very different and diverse experiences.

Small businesses’ reflections underscored the multifaceted impact of extreme heat. Women shared stories of vegetables spoiling, machines failing, children missing school, and market activities slowing down due to the heat. They emphasised that early warning information—when trusted and understood—can improve decisions that directly affect daily survival and long-term wellbeing with anticipatory actions.

Looking ahead, the initiative highlights the need to promote and integrate platforms like the SACHET app and IMD alerts into localised training and awareness efforts. This includes expanding training programs to new areas, conducting post-summer impact evaluations, and engaging decision-makers to institutionalise community-centric EWS and anticipatory action frameworks. Building capacity to not only receive but also understand and act must remain a top priority.

This IMD effort reaffirmed that effective early warning systems are not only about forecasts—they are about people and our planet. The efforts demonstrated that meaningful access, cultural relevance, and co-designed dissemination are what turn alerts into action. In the face of growing climate risks, this initiative offers a scalable model for empowering vulnerable communities through information they can trust, understand, and use.

The users of early warning, when affected population of India, invite us to a reflexive anticipatory action set to break down barriers and build new bridges between those who make the early warning come into being and those who use it to reduce or stop the impact of upcoming risk. Their grounded experience leads India into the boldly optimistic frontiers of early warning.