To say that the Indian summer of 2026 has been unforgiving is an understatement. With temperatures ranging from 42–45 degrees Celsius across many parts of the country, heat is no longer a seasonal inconvenience — it is beginning to reshape how homes are designed and built.

“We are increasingly seeing climate as the starting point of design rather than something that gets addressed later through mechanical systems. With rising temperatures and longer summers, the way a house sits on the site, its orientation and how it opens up have become far more critical than ever before,” says Neelesh Kumar, principal architect of 23 Degrees Design Shift, a Hyderabad-based architecture and design firm.