The builder's path
For: People in Assam aren't warned of dangerous humid heat, because India's heatwave alerts look at temperature alone.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Assam.
Step 1
Join an impact incubator
Shape a model that pays for itself without excluding the people who need it.
Assam's government incubator in Guwahati.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Step 2
Raise patient capital
Impact funds and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Incubator for social enterprises in health, agriculture and livelihoods.
Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.
Incubator and investor at IIM Ahmedabad, with impact programmes.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Official forecasts, observations and the heatwave criteria.
Free weather API with temperature, humidity and apparent temperature, including history.
Would own a state heat plan and could issue or relay district alerts.
Quoted in the article on humid heat as a definitional blind spot in Assam.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Assam, India. Problem: People in Assam aren't warned of dangerous humid heat, because India's heatwave alerts look at temperature alone. Who it hurts: Residents of Assam's cities and districts, especially outdoor workers, children and older people, during the humid pre-monsoon and monsoon months. The moment it hurts: A day when the thermometer stays under the heatwave threshold but humidity pushes the feels-like temperature past 50°C, and no alert is issued. What people do today: Districts issue occasional precautionary advisories, such as school closures or revised timings. Most people rely on the official heatwave alerts, which rarely include Assam. Why it is still unsolved: The official heatwave criteria use maximum air temperature and its departure from normal; relative humidity is not part of them, so Assam rarely qualifies and has no Heat Action Plan. What solved looks like: A free daily heat-stress alert for each Assam district, by SMS and web, based on wet-bulb or feels-like temperature from public forecasts, with plain advice for outdoor workers and schools, checked against at least one past summer of local observations. Where: Assam, India First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.”
Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“You cannot step twice into the same river.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Arise, awake; seek out the wise and learn.”
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत
uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.