In one of India’s most heat-vulnerable regions, Supriya Sahu is leading a powerful transformation to protect communities from extreme heat. As temperatures in Tamil Nadu reach dangerous highs, Sahu Additional Chief Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forest has championed cooling solutions, nature-based adaptation, and climate-resilient policies that put vulnerable families first.
Under her leadership, Tamil Nadu became the first Indian state to officially recognize heat as a state-specific disaster. Her work blends simple, low-cost cooling methods with large-scale environmental restoration: from painting school roofs white under the Cool Roof Project, expanding mangroves and wetlands, establishing 65 new reserve forests, to launching projects that reduce cooling energy demand and protect biodiversity.
