Can lessons from India help us survive extreme heat?

Plus: how many whole grains to eat for heart health  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | September 19, 2026     Today is the last Saturday of the summer, and where I live, it’s a blessedly mild one. But 2026 was the hottest summer on record in the U.S. How will we all survive extreme heat, here and around the world? In his new essay for TIME, Dr. Satchit Balsari, a Harvard physician who focuses on global humanitarian emergencies, is studying one population in India to glean lessons that may help us all. TODAY’S TOPICS Lessons about how to survive extreme heat Got a question for us? How many whole grains to eat for a healthier heart         SATURDAY READ What 1,000 women workers can teach us about surviving extreme heat By Dr. Satchit Balsari Ed Kashi/VII/Redux On Sept. 2, 2026, the United Nations Environment Program report, Limiting Overshoot, declared that the world has fallen short of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, and that urgent action is needed to course-correct. That same week, NPR reported that extreme heat killed nearly five times as many people in the United States as official records indicated.  These findings followed two consecutively brutal summers. Death counts from heatwaves across Europe dominated news cycles this year as the continent’s aging infrastructure struggled to cool down. “Heat domes” trapped heat across the United States. But merely counting deaths from heat risks missing its impact on human life. Each heat dome in the U.S. affected over 100 million people. Among them were construction workers, outdoor workers, delivery workers in un-airconditioned cabs, farm workers, the unhoused, the poor who could not afford air conditioning, those on medications on whom the impact of heat was amplified, those with mental health disorders, and those with little or no access to health care. Read the full essay here.         SPONSORED Drink Your Skincare This Fall Fall skin needs more than a serum. Pique's Radiant Skin Duo pairs B·T Fountain electrolyte with antioxidant-rich Sun Goddess Matcha to hydrate from within. The glow shows up fast. Sells out every year — get 20% off for life. Shop now. Get 20% Off For Life         PLEASE ADVISE Ask the health team Have a burning health or wellness question? Wondering how to handle a tricky social situation? Please write to healthmatters@time.com, and we’ll weigh in weekly in the newsletter.         SPONSORED 1,000+ Claude Prompts Top Professionals Actually Use at Work Claude can be your analyst, editor, and strategist. But most professionals are using it to fix grammar. These 1,000+ Claude prompts take it from grammar tool to your most powerful AI work assistant. Sign up for Superhuman AI and get: 1,000+ ready-to-use Claude prompts to get real work done in minutes — researched, tested, and used by professionals at Google, Microsoft, and NASA Superhuman AI newsletter (4 min daily) so you keep learning new AI tools and skills to stay ahead in your career — the prompts are just the beginning Claim your free prompts         WHAT WE’RE READING A new crop of Democratic doctors and nurses are running for office to try to lower health care costs and improve public health in the U.S., Gaby Vinick and Oren Oppenheim write for ABC News.  A long-term study of Alzheimer's disease in a predominantly Black area relied on a grant that was terminated by the Trump Administration, leaving many study participants without the results of their cognitive tests, reports Jessica Glenza for the Guardian. A new study finds that eating four to six servings of whole grains per day is linked to heart-health benefits, reports Lauren Manaker for Health.         SPONSORED 100+ coding prompts top engineers use to ship 5X faster Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor are on every engineer's stack. Most still treat them like a search bar. Top engineers work from a system, these 100+ prompts are that system. Sign up for The Code and get the prompts free, plus a 5-minute daily newsletter to keep sharpening your edge. Claim your free prompts       More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: healthmatters@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here Connect with TIME PRIVACY POLICY   © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe