By Pawan Koyal

In India, climate change no longer sits inside sustainability reports or policy debates. It strikes through Transformer failures, flooded basements, water shortages, and overheated HVAC systems.

These escalating climate impacts are shifting key building priorities. Facility and asset management now act as climate-risk operators.

India’s Buildings Were Not Designed for This Climate

For decades, India built much of its urban infrastructure for a more stable climate, but changing conditions now undermine those foundations. Engineers designed drainage systems based on older rainfall patterns, sized cooling systems for lower temperatures, and developed water systems for more predictable monsoons. Today, those assumptions no longer work. Heatwaves are starting earlier and lasting longer. Scientists and policy experts warn that the heat island effect in Indian cities, made worse by dense buildings, lost wetlands, and less greenery, is turning major cities into heat traps. (Jairaj & Malaviya, 2019)

At the same time, monsoons are becoming less predictable. Instead of steady rain, cities now face sudden heavy downpours that overwhelm drainage systems. Reports on climate resilience predict more intense rainfall and longer dry periods, putting pressure on both flood control and water supply. As a result, FM operators must now evolve even faster than the buildings themselves can adapt.

An office park in Hyderabad may now demand more cooling than the engineers originally designed its HVAC system to handle. A high-end apartment tower in Mumbai may need flood barriers and additional basement pumps, which were once needed only in coastal disaster areas. A tech campus in Bengaluru may have to store much more non-drinking water, since relying on water tankers is no longer just an emergency measure. To address these rapid changes, facility management must integrate engineering solutions in real time.

The New Pre-Monsoon War Rooms

In major Indian cities, preparing for the monsoon has shifted from a simple checklist to a full risk-management exercise, including drainage checks, thermal scans of electrical systems, rooftop waterproofing reviews, emergency drills, and flood-risk mapping, all conducted weeks before the rains start. In many commercial buildings, basements, once just utility spaces, have become risk hotspots because they house electrical panels, DG systems, pumps, IT rooms, and parking.

City authorities are stepping up their preparations. For example, Vadodara Municipal Corporation accelerated stormwater cleaning, drainage upgrades, and deployment of emergency equipment ahead of the 2026 monsoon, following earlier floods that highlighted infrastructure weaknesses.

In line with these municipal efforts, Large commercial property owners now often run command centres during the monsoon. Key facilities keep flood-response plans similar to those used in industrial emergencies and add IoT water-level sensors, weather dashboards, and real-time utility monitoring to spot problems before they disrupt business.

For global capability centres, data centres, pharmaceutical facilities, and financial institutions, climate-related downtime now carries reputational and financial consequences that may ripple globally within hours.

Heat has become an Infrastructure Threat

Extreme temperatures are exposing infrastructural vulnerabilities across India’s power ecosystem. Cities are experiencing unprecedented spikes in electricity demand as air-conditioning loads surge. In Tamil Nadu’s Trichy district, power demand reportedly rose nearly 40% during the heatwave, triggering technical failures and stressing the distribution network. (Srivatsal, 2026)

Chillers run longer, transformer failures are more common, backup power systems run more often, and equipment is wearing out faster. Because of these conditions, energy management focuses on ensuring that systems remain resilient under thermal stress, highlighting a shift from merely managing energy to actively maintaining operational stability during temperature fluctuations.

For example, a major IT campus in Pune recently implemented a rapid pre-monsoon checklist that includes dynamic cooling optimization, backup generator testing, and rooftop waterproofing. During the summer heatwave of 2026, their FM team adjusted HVAC setpoints in real time based on occupancy and external temperatures, resulting in a 15 per cent reduction in energy consumption and zero heat-related equipment failures. After flash floods hit the city, they relied on flood sensors and immediate drainage checks to prevent basement water ingress, allowing the facility to maintain uninterrupted operations while neighbouring offices experienced downtime.

Water Is Emerging as the Defining Urban Risk

Unpredictable rainfall, declining groundwater levels, and growing demand from the city are now major challenges for commercial properties. Quick water-saving wins can help ease these urgent pressures.

Moreover, intensifying climate variability is worsening these operational pressures. Longer dry spells, coupled with sudden heavy rainfall, can create conditions in which cities experience both floods and water shortages simultaneously. Real estate operators now prioritize rainwater harvesting and water recycling as critical resilience tools rather than just compliance measures.

The opportunity to move the high side infrastructure to a higher plane (upper basements, on stilts, or on terraces) is being considered seriously. In extreme cases, installation of flood gates and barriers is an option being looked at.

Facility Management Is Moving Into the Boardroom

Consequently, India is seeking to incorporate disaster resilience into infrastructure financing, and contracts provide data on flood response plans, energy backup systems, and water reserves to support compliance and unlock insurance or financing incentives.

Investors, insurers, occupiers, and developers increasingly want answers to operational risk questions.

How quickly can a building recover after flooding?

What percentage of operations can continue during grid instability?

How resilient are cooling systems during prolonged heatwaves?

Does the property have redundant water sourcing?

How exposed are critical assets in basements or low-lying zones?

The Industry’s Defining Decade

For years, the industry focused on making buildings efficient, attractive, and scalable. Now, resilience is the priority. The most valuable commercial buildings in India will be the smartest ones, able to keep working through heat, water shortages, infrastructure problems, and extreme weather  to improve resilience, facility managers should start by conducting a climate risk audit focused on flood, heat, and water supply vulnerabilities.

Taking these steps today can help safeguard operations, protect assets, and build the foundations of long-term climate resilience.

(Disclaimer: The author is Executive Director and Head of Facility and Asset Management – Knight Frank. Views are personal)