Europe is melting at temperatures India would call a mild Tuesday. Yet millions of Indians continue to brave 45°C afternoons in jeans, ties, and full-sleeve formal shirts. It is time to ask why, and to borrow a proven page from Tokyo’s playbook.
Picture two officegoers on the same July morning. One is in Bordeaux, where 44.6°C shattered records so thoroughly that Paris has seen more days above 40°C in a recent fortnight than in the 147 years from 1872 to 2019. France has placed dozens of departments under maximum heat alerts, sparking a national reckoning over air conditioning, working hours, and even architecture. The other is in Kanpur or Churu, where such temperatures are increasingly routine. In recent heatwaves, India has claimed nearly all of the world’s 50 hottest cities on record for entire days, with places like Sri Ganganagar hitting 48.2°C.
The paradox is stark: the country facing the more brutal, prolonged, and physiologically punishing heat is also the one most stubbornly wedded to clothing designed for cooler climates.
A Continent Unlearning Comfort
Europe’s 2026 summer has been historic. A persistent heat dome trapped Saharan air, pushing temperatures 15-18°C above norms. Spain reached 45.1°C, Germany a provisional 41.7°C national high, and the UK broke records. Excess deaths have climbed into the thousands. European governments, whose infrastructure and wardrobes were built for 20°C summers, are now urgently rethinking dress codes, school calendars, and building standards.
India has had no such luxury of gradual adjustment. Heatwaves have become a predictable fixture. The India Meteorological Department reports rising frequency and duration of heatwaves, with night-time temperatures warming in nearly every state, robbing bodies of overnight recovery. The human and economic toll is immense: the Lancet Countdown estimated 247 billion potential labour hours lost in 2024 alone, translating to roughly $194 billion in economic impact, concentrated in agriculture, construction, and informal sectors.
The Maths of Dressing Cold in a Hot Country
Much of urban India’s response has been to air-condition the problem rather than dress for it. Peak electricity demand has repeatedly shattered records during heatwaves, driven largely by cooling loads. Stepping out of an office into a scooter, metro, or car park at 2 pm reveals the flaw: the human body cannot adjust as quickly as an AC thermostat.
The attachment to Western formal wear runs deeper than fabric. Full sleeve shirts, trousers, ties, and jeans arrived as colonial markers of professionalism. Post-independence, they retained their status signal. A crisp shirt still reads as competence in much of corporate India, while a kurta or breathable cotton can be unfairly dismissed as too traditional or too casual. Denim, in particular, has become a default “smart casual” option despite its dense weave that traps heat and limits airflow.
This is not universal, some industries and regions are more flexible, but the default remains stubbornly formal.
What Tokyo Already Solved
Japan confronted a similar mismatch two decades ago. In 2005, the Ministry of the Environment launched Cool Biz, raising office temperatures to 28°C and explicitly permitting lighter dress: no jackets or ties, short sleeves, breathable fabrics. After the 2011 Fukushima crisis, Super Cool Biz went further – polo shirts, casual shoes, and adjusted hours. The campaign succeeded because it offered institutional permission. Discomfort became a shared norm rather than an individual risk. It delivered measurable energy savings and cultural change.
India, which routinely endures temperatures far beyond what Cool Biz was designed for, lacks an equivalent cultural and institutional shift.
An Indian Cool Biz – Practical and Rooted
The solution does not require importing new technology. India already possesses centuries of heat adapted clothing: lightweight khadi, handloom cotton, linen, and loose silhouettes. These were engineered for exactly this climate. Heavy sherwanis and formal wear were traditionally reserved for winter or ceremonies, not daily commutes.
A genuine Indian Cool Biz could look like this:
- Central and state governments the country’s largest employer bloc leading by example, authorising open-collar shirts, breathable cottons, linens, and lighter trousers (or kurtas) as fully acceptable business attire from April to June/July.
- The private sector follows suit, with clear guidelines so no employee fears looking “unprofessional.”
- Redefining “formal” to include well-tailored traditional or fusion wear that signals seriousness without sacrificing comfort.
- Complementary measures: earlier working hours in peak heat, shaded public spaces, and incentives for breathable fabrics.
Some forward-looking Indian companies and state offices have already begun experimenting with relaxed summer codes. Scaling this nationally would save energy, boost productivity, reduce health risks, and align daily life with reality. It would also support khadi and handloom sectors, a rare climate solution that creates rural livelihoods.
The Real Cost of Looking the Part
There is quiet irony in a nation that pioneered some of the world’s most heat-appropriate garments now defaulting to the wardrobe of countries only now discovering 40°C summers. Europe is learning, at painful cost, that clothing, buildings, and institutions must adapt. India has known this for decades and has mostly adjusted the thermostat instead of the shirt.
Cool Biz was never just about ties. It was about a government deciding that human survival and common sense mattered more than outdated appearances and having the courage to say so. India, hotter than almost anywhere that campaign was designed for, is long overdue for the same conversation.
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