was India's warmest August since 1901, driven by El Niño.
India Meteorological Department
Who gets to feel the heat, and who has no choice but to work through it.
A blistering heat wave pushes a city to its limits, and Traffic Constable Laxman Choubey becomes its quiet witness, moving through a suffocating home, a scorching traffic post, and an afternoon among workers already stretched thin.
- Starring
- Sharib Hashmi as Laxman Choubey, Sarika Singh, Adithi Kalkunte, Ambrish Saxena, Vikram Singh, Satvika Sharma
- Written & Directed by
- Tej Sisodia
- Produced by
- Anushka Shah, Naseeruddin Shah, Tej Sisodia & Harish Borah
- Lyrics by
- Swanand Kirkire
- A Production of
- Civic Studios & Motley Films
Why this film, why now
Heat is no longer a footnote in India's climate story.
of India's population faces high to very high heat risk.
Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)of the world's hottest cities are in India.
Global heat ranking dataWatch It's Only 47°C
Consciously released on YouTube to keep the film freely accessible, without a paywall.
It's Only 47°CWatch on YouTube
10 July 2026Released on YouTube in collaboration with Pocket Films
198kviews and counting on YouTube
3.4k+likes
230comments
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Impact Campaign
Since release, the film has moved beyond the screen, into creative storytelling workshops, journalist workshops on climate communication, municipal training rooms, and international climate forums, using the story as an opening for harder conversations on heat, health, and inequality.
18Film screenings and workshops
5Countries reached: India, UK, Australia, US and Netherlands
3Climate Weeks across London, Mumbai and New York
Where the film has travelled
- India Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Nagpur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar
- United Kingdom London
- United States New York
- Netherlands The Hague
- Australia Melbourne
Impact goalsThree ways this campaign is built to work
Film Screenings
- Aim
- Spark dialogue on practical heat responses and create a reflective space for audiences to engage with the human side of climate impacts.
- Target group
- General public, media creators, climate experts, and international development sector audiences
Advocacy
- Aim
- Pursue partnerships to advance inclusive climate governance, build knowledge of labour/heat-related rights, and support organisations in strengthening heat protections.
- Intended partners
- Policy makers/organisations, corporates, worker collectives, educational institutions & general public
Digital Campaign
- Aim
- Build empathy for outdoor workers facing extreme heat, raising awareness of Heat Action Plans and practical/low-cost community solutions, and promote heat-safe behaviours among vulnerable groups.
- Target group
- Gen Z and urban audiences
Film Screenings
Workshops and screenings with young creatives, students and children
Nazariya Workshop × Basti Media School
40 young creatives aged 17–21 teamed up with filmmaker Sumit Roy to insert climate themes into scenes in popular movies such as PK, WALL-E, Tumbbad and Laapataa Ladies, and got candid about how the heat has already rewritten their childhoods.
Soho House: Lights, Camera, Climate
Screenwriters and directors gave familiar Bollywood moments a climate rewrite, while journalist Nidhi Jamwal unpacked how extreme heat ties into gender, health and identity.
World Environment Day Screening, BMC × UNEP
This World Environment Day (5 June), the film played somewhere unexpected: Penguin Hall at Byculla Zoo. The BMC was celebrating 100 student interns who had just finished its climate change course, and the screening brought them together with educators, environmental practitioners and civic leaders.
MINI's Children's Climate Program × ASAR
Can a six-year-old talk about heat stress? At MINI 2026 in Chennai, two groups of young viewers, aged 6–10 and 11–16, watched the film and had plenty to say. Their thoughtful answers showed they're already noticing how the heat shapes their everyday lives.
Advocacy
Climate weeks, conferences, communities and newsrooms
London Climate Action Week × People's Courage International
A closed-door screening for researchers, civil society, and philanthropies, followed by a public forum where the trailer was shown.
Mumbai Climate Week
A special screening in the run-up to Mumbai Climate Week 2026, followed by a discussion with the creative team and producer Naseeruddin Shah.
Mumbai Climate Week × SIES
A screening at SIES College, attended by approximately 100 students and followed by a discussion with Mr. Rajendra Ingale, Chief Sanitation Officer, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation.
Climate Asia Conference
Trailer shown to multi-stakeholder climate professionals at India Habitat Centre.
Asha Nivas × ASAR: Climate through a One Health lens
As part of a thematic discussion on Climate and One Health, the film was screened at Asha Nivas with construction workers, farmers, fishers, street vendors and children.
Journalist Workshops × ASAR
The film was screened for 161 journalists across Nagpur, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar. In Nagpur, 31 reporters watched alongside the Regional Meteorological Centre and the Patrakar Club, on a day when the city hit 42.4°C.
Even as an activist spending time outdoors, I struggle to find shade. How can people in air-conditioned spaces understand this?
Yuvraj, student & social activist
It's Only 47°C is a short film that powerfully captures the urban heat crisis, not just a story of heat, but of climate change and the real-world challenges we must confront.
Dr. Pradeep Awate, Former State Surveillance Officer, Maharashtra Health Services
Digital Campaign
3.2M+views across all assets published on Instagram
2.3M+total reach
Our Partners
ASARJournalist workshops, MINI children's program, Asha Nivas
Project MumbaiMumbai Climate Week
UNEPWorld Environment Day screening
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)World Environment Day screening
People's Courage InternationalLondon Climate Action Week
Awards and Recognition
Official selection at 8 film festivals
In the media
Getting the story into the newsroom.
ThePrintSharib Hashmi hopes ‘It's Only 47 Degrees C’ sparks conversation on climate inequalityRead the article
The New Indian ExpressSweating it outRead the article
The WeekTej Sisodia's ‘It's Only 47°C’ explores how extreme heat comes with a rate cardRead the article
NewsletterICC Newsletter
The ICC newsletter also published a feature on the film.
NewsletterClimate Asia Conference
The Climate Asia Conference newsletter also spotlighted the film.