India, which is on track to exceed China as the most populous nation in the world, runs the risk of exceeding the point at which humans can no longer survive in such intense and frequent heat waves. The national weather service has predicted rising temperatures in the coming weeks after February was India’s hottest month since 1901. This has increased concerns that this year’s record heat wave, which severely damaged crops and led to hours-long blackouts, will happen again. India’s 1.4 billion people live in densely populated cities without access to well-ventilated housing or air conditioning, making temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) damaging in any circumstance.

The combination of temperature and humidity causes heat stress in people, according to Kieran Hunt, a climate scientist at the University of Reading who has examined the nation’s weather patterns.India has higher humidity levels than areas with comparable temperatures, like the Sahara. It follows that sweating is useless or inefficient. Because of this, a measurement known as a “wet-bulb reading” in India that combines air temperature and relative humidity gives a better indication of how much heat stress the human body is experiencing. India may be among the first nations in the world to experience wet-bulb temperatures above 35°C, according to a November World Bank report.

India stands out despite the fact that no nation is immune to the effects of global warming for a variety of reasons. The following interview with Hunt, which explores those elements, has been condensed and made more concise.