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The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) and the Microinsurance Network (MiN) jointly organised a virtual roundtable on “Small Heat Resilience Measures: Big Impact in Small Towns and on Small Businesses in India” on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.

The roundtable examined how extreme heat is quietly disrupting health, livelihoods, and local economies in India’s small towns—particularly affecting small businesses and urban workers. Discussions highlighted how small, locally led resilience measures can deliver significant impact through early action, low-cost cooling solutions, and people-centred approaches.

The event also marked the launch of a special issue of Southasiadisasters.net on “Small Heat Resilience Measures: Big Impact in Small Towns and on Small Businesses in India.” The issue showcased field-based evidence and lessons on cooling extreme heat, protecting work and dignity, advancing equity, and preventing avoidable heat-related loss and damage.

🎯 Key Objectives

• Highlighted local cooling solutions that reduce heat stress and livelihood loss in small towns and small businesses
• Shifted the focus from post-impact relief to early action and sustained, people-centred adaptation
• Linked local practice with policy and finance to scale small resilience measures with big impact

💬 Key Discussion Areas

• Extreme heat as a slow-onset risk to health, work, and local economies in small towns
• What works on the ground: low-cost, people-led cooling measures and anticipatory action
• Enabling scale and impact through governance, data, and timely, flexible finance

Speakers

• Mr. Andrew Spezowka, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Geneva
• Dr. Yogindra Samant, International Labour Organization (ILO), India
• Ms. Aditi Singh, Microinsurance Network, India
• Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
• Ms. Laasya Khandavalli, AIDMI, India

The roundtable brought together practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and development partners to explore extreme heat and overlapping climate risks as growing threats to livelihoods in India’s small towns, and to identify practical pathways for protecting people, work, and dignity in a warming future.