Arnav Singh Rana

Arnav grew up in the Western Himalayas, in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, where the relationship between people and climate is immediate, lived, and unequal. His work is grounded in Planetary Health, sitting at the intersection of climate change, health equity, and intersectionality, with a focus on who is most exposed, who has access to protection, and who is able to recover.

He has led research examining the impacts of heatwaves on transmasculine people in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, mobilising over 100 participants through workshops, focus group discussions, and surveys to create safe, inclusive spaces for transmasculine youth to document health risks, safety concerns, and access to resources. This work moves beyond conventional climate assessments by drawing on lived experiences to understand how rising temperatures uniquely affect gender-diverse communities. Find more about it on heatwavestories.com

In collaboration with organisations such as Transmen Collective, The Humsafar Trust, and Kanpur Queer Welfare Foundation, he has strengthened community trust and participation. He is Co-Founder of NavHill Foundation, where he works to bridge community knowledge, lived experience, and institutional systems, advancing inclusive, data-driven climate strategies and highlighting the urgent need to centre gender-diverse communities in climate resilience planning.