Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India

16/07/2026

"In Mira Bhayandar, the hottest place on a summer afternoon wasn't the street. It was inside people's own homes."

This film by Tata Trusts on the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat project in Mira Bhayandar captures the lived realities of families in informal settlements, where extreme indoor heat disrupted work, study, sleep, health, and everyday life.

Through the voices of residents, it reveals what it takes to endure a heatwave in small homes, the coping strategies shaped by necessity, and how unbearable indoor heat had become an accepted part of daily life.

The film also shows how a simple, community-led cooling intervention by AKAH transformed homes into safer, cooler, and more comfortable spaces—restoring not only thermal comfort but also the ability to live, work, and rest with dignity.

"Now our home stays much cooler. Earlier, we had to keep stepping outside because of the heat. Today, we can comfortably stay indoors, finish our work, and finally rest."

Watch the full film to see how climate resilience begins at home: https://youtu.be/w6oOU7VKhWw?si=L9rO1deL3nqIKmYc

Urban heat is one of the most under-discussed climate crises in Ind...

30/06/2026

UN-HABITAT selected Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India to present at the 2026 conference in , putting innovative community-led climate solutions from on one of the world's most influential stages for urban climate action.

As part of the session ‘Rethinking GHG Inventories and Informal Housing’, alongside the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), Cities alliance, C40 Cities, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, shared lessons from Scaling Climate-Resilient Housing Solutions Across India's Informal and Formal Urban Settlements. Evidence from Mira Bhayandar and Chandrapur demonstrated what community-centered adaptation can achieve.

In Mira-Bhayandar's informal settlements, passive cooling retrofits, including SRI paint, wood wool insulation, aluminium foil, and ventilated cores, reduced indoor temperatures by 3–5°C, through community governance and without a single displacement.

At Nav Yuwan Co-operative Housing Society, Asia's first EDGE Advanced certified existing residential building, retrofits delivered 41% energy savings and 232.78 tCO₂ in avoided emissions annually, at a cost of just US$210 per household.

The world's most effective climate innovations are not always the most complex. Sometimes, they begin with communities coming together to make their homes, neighborhoods, and cities more resilient. Bringing those stories and solutions to the global stage is how we accelerate change.

11/06/2026

A roof provides shelter—but not always relief from heat.

In many informal settlements, corrugated metal roofs, low ceilings, poor ventilation, and overcrowded layouts can turn homes into heat traps during the hottest hours of the day. Swipe to see how everyday housing conditions can amplify heat exposure and affect comfort, health, and well-being.

Through the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India's ground work in Mira Bhayandar, this post explores how housing conditions influence heat exposure and affect everyday life.

05/06/2026

This World Environment Day, the conversation turns to nature, not as something to be saved, but as something to learn from.

In Vasai, one such learning takes the form of the Bavkhals, traditional water bodies that have sustained the local ecology and community life for generations.

Under this year's global theme, Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future, we are organizing two events that explore history, ecology, and conservation practices. A guided bavkhal trail on Saturday, 6th June (8–10 AM) followed by a community event on Sunday, 7th June (6:30–10:30 AM)

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India invites you to join events exploring Vasai's water heritage and the community-led efforts to protect it.

Contact Mr. Sachin Marti, Programme Head, Water Resource Development, at 9975123589 / 9960693178 to confirm your presence.

26/05/2026

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India has signed an MoU with Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Ltd (official) (MahaIT) in the presence of Hon. Chief Minister Shri. Devendra Fadnavis to strengthen resilience to heat, drought, floods, and other climate risks across Maharashtra.

As climate impacts intensify—from extreme heat and droughts to recurring floods — this partnership reflects a shared commitment to scale solutions that protect vulnerable communities and build resilient habitats.

For years, our teams have worked closely with communities on the ground. In Mira Bhayandar and Chandrapur, we have seen how community-led, evidence-based interventions can meaningfully improve thermal comfort, reducing indoor temperatures by up to 4–6°C in some of Maharashtra’s most climate-vulnerable informal settlements. This partnership also extends to water security, bringing together our experience in technical implementation, community awareness, and capacity building to reach climate-vulnerable zones and marginalized communities, with a special focus on women and children.

This partnership now gives us the opportunity to scale these solutions and deepen their impact across the state through technology-enabled, data-driven, and community-focused climate action.

Grateful to Shri Sanjay Shripatrao Katkar (IAS), Shri Kailas Gite, Adv. Ashish Shelar - ॲड. आशिष शेलार and Shri Dnyaneshwar Mulay for their leadership and support in making this collaboration possible.

12/05/2026

Housing and climate resilience are often framed through technical language, policy frameworks, and large-scale urban planning conversations. Yet in many Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, communities remain distanced from the practical knowledge needed to make resilient housing choices in their everyday lives.



Through initiatives such as the in Junagadh, Gujarat, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India is working to demystify housing resilience by making climate-responsive solutions more locally relevant and actionable. Bringing together over 130 participants from Junagadh, Amreli, Una, Porbandar, and surrounding regions, the workshop created a space where residents could directly engage with approaches to safer, greener, and more climate-resilient homes.

From the interactive Gharsaz game to conversations with experts working on cool roofing, rooftop solar, rainwater harvesting, and energy-efficient solutions, the emphasis remained on translating technical concepts into practical, everyday decision-making.

AKAH also organized an exhibition that transformed the workshop into a hands-on marketplace of ideas, allowing participants to directly explore technologies, materials, and practices shaping more climate-resilient homes.

Through the Housing Mela, AKAH India continues to advance a community-centred approach to climate resilience — ensuring that housing knowledge is not confined to policy discourse but becomes accessible to the communities most affected by climate risk.

07/05/2026

15 Schools. Thousands of students. One step towards water resilience 💧 🌱

In climate-vulnerable regions, access to water is not just a necessity; it is the foundation for education, dignity, and resilience.

In , one of Maharashtra’s drought-prone districts, falling groundwater levels and irregular rainfall continue to impact communities year after year. Schools are often among the first places to feel this crisis.

When water becomes uncertain, classrooms are affected too, hygiene suffers, attendance drops, and children, especially girls, face greater challenges in continuing their education.

We are proud to partner with India Exim Bank to strengthen water resilience in schools across through a community-driven and sustainable approach.

The initiative focuses on:
🌱 Rooftop rainwater harvesting
🌳 Native tree plantation and ecological restoration
🤝 Community awareness and local stewardship
🏫 Creating safer and more supportive learning spaces for children

This is more than a water project; it is an investment in climate resilience, education, and the future of our children.

13/04/2026

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India participated in an emergency mock drill organized by the , Government of Maharashtra, under the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, reinforcing inter-agency coordination for effective .

The exercise brought together from AKAH India and the Civil Defence Department, alongside fire, medical, and cadet response units, to simulate real-life emergencies and crisis scenarios, underscoring the growing urgency of preparedness in an increasingly complex world.

AKAH India's Emergency Management team demonstrated its operational capabilities across each:
→ Surface rescue techniques and safe evacuation protocols
→ Safe transportation of injured persons
→ Basic First Aid and on-site casualty management

What makes drills like these significant is not just skills assessment but strengthening systems. When multiple agencies operate together under simulated pressure, coordination gaps surface, protocols are refined, and response instincts are built. Preparedness, when practiced repeatedly and collectively, is what ensures safety.

As climate risks grow and urban vulnerabilities deepen, exercises like this are no longer precautionary. They are essential.

AKAH India remains committed to working alongside government agencies and community partners to strengthen resilience and build safer, better-prepared communities for all.

31/03/2026

is no longer a seasonal issue. It is reshaping how people live, rest, and seek shelter in Indian cities. While some turn to air conditioning, many are left coping with heat-trapping homes and limited choices. The in who can adapt, and how, is growing.

The real shift? People respond more to than to sustainability. When solutions are affordable and accessible, thermal comfort becomes possible for more, not just a few.

So, is India getting too hot for roti, kapda aur makaan?
Perhaps, yes, unless we rethink who adaptation is designed for.

This question shaped a panel at Mumbai Climate Week and led to an opinion piece published by Dialogue Earth.

👉 Read it here: https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/to-help-people-adapt-to-heat-focus-on-the-savings/

City policies should stress practical outcomes and lower electricity bills rather than emission reductions, say Zubair Shaikh and Shravya Garuda

22/03/2026

Different landscapes, one story: How water shapes lives across communities?

From flooded roads in Vikarabad to restored Bavkhals in Vasai,
Water challenges look different everywhere, but the struggle is deeply familiar.

This , we spotlight the communities who didn't wait for change; they built it. Locally, collectively, and with everything they had.
Because when water is managed well, everything else follows.