Dileep Mavalankar is someone who knows a thing or two about heat. He used to run the
Indian Institute of Public Health and helped draw up India's first heat action plan for the city of Ahmedabad in 2013.
"There should be strict guidelines on hours of the day when rallies and meetings can be organised, if there is a heatwave," Mavalankar told Context.
After all, the tragedy at Maharashtra was at an outdoor event - not in a queue to vote.
Where possible, Mavalankar said, rallies should be suspended or moved indoors. And medical support should be on hand with local hospitals on standby.
In the southern state of Telangana, Anvesh Reddy, a politician with Kisan Congress, said the party was taking its own precautions as temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
"We have mostly been meeting voters between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. in the morning and then after 5 p.m. in the evening," Reddy said.
But political consultants said there should be specific guidelines to ensure no party takes the issue lightly, and often large campaign events have nowhere near enough medical staff.
With heatwaves like this due to get increasingly common, people may opt to stay at home. Protecting people, therefore, may mean protecting democracy.
See you next week,
Jack