The relentless grip of extreme heat in India is not just a weather phenomenon; it's a force that's pushing the country's poorest workers further into the depths of poverty. This is the stark reality unveiled by new research from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), which exclusively shared its findings with The Guardian. The study reveals a disturbing trend: extreme heat acts as a 'poverty multiplier' for hundreds of millions of workers in India's informal sector, exacerbating existing inequalities and threatening their very livelihoods.
One of the most vulnerable groups are outdoor workers, who suffer the brunt of the heat's impact. In 2024, these workers lost nearly 9% of their salary, amounting to a significant £112 ($151) in earnings. The economic loss is particularly acute in Rajasthan, a desert region plagued by prolonged heatwaves and a rising death toll. Here, informal workers lost an equivalent of 8.3% of their income, unable to work due to the grueling effects of extreme heat on their bodies.
The implications are far-reaching. The IIED research estimates that each year, 21.1 working days are lost in India due to extreme heat, an unaffordable loss for the 550 million workers in the informal sector. This not only affects their immediate income but also has long-term health consequences. Prolonged exposure to heat and dehydration increases the risk of chronic kidney disease, with the research estimating that over time, one in 20 informal workers in India could develop this debilitating condition, affecting over 26 million workers.
Ritu Bharadwaj, the climate finance director at IIED, paints a grim picture: "Heat is quietly pushing these families deeper into poverty. As the heat rises, their efficiency goes down, so they earn less. With lower income, their food intake falls. And because they cannot afford to stop, they keep working through it, doing lasting damage to their health."
The situation is exacerbated by the lack of employment security for informal workers. They are often forced to work through illness and tolerate unsafe conditions, with poor access to basic necessities like drinking water, shade, rest areas, sanitation, and medical support at their worksites. Many return to homes that offer no respite from the heat.
Take, for instance, the story of Inder and Laxmi Kumar, a husband and wife working on a construction site in Gurugram. They have both suffered from fever, body aches, and exhaustion due to the heat, yet they cannot afford to stop working. "I felt like I would collapse, like my body was on fire," Laxmi said. "We kept working because if we stopped, we wouldn't be paid."
The burden is even heavier for female laborers, many of whom also care for young children while working. Kumkumari, a 35-year-old construction worker, pours water over her two-year-old daughter to cool her down, but this often means she has to miss work to care for her sick child.
The heat's impact is not just physical; it's also psychological. Sattavir, a 38-year-old laborer, developed a kidney infection due to working in extreme heat and repeated dehydration. He's now in debt and struggling to find work, as potential employers avoid hiring him due to his weakened state. "When people see you're weak, they don't hire you," he said.
The human-caused climate breakdown is making heatwaves more intense and frequent, and India, with its predominantly informal economy, could be one of the first places where heatwaves break the human survivability limit, according to a World Bank report. The research estimates that heat could cost the Indian economy at least £58 billion, equivalent to 2% of its GDP, due to a combination of lost wages, worksite closures, and long-term losses from heat-related illnesses.
What makes this particularly fascinating is the way extreme heat acts as a multiplier of existing inequalities. It's not just about the heat itself; it's about how it exacerbates the vulnerabilities of those already on the margins. This raises a deeper question: how can we address these structural inequalities and ensure that the most vulnerable workers are protected from the impacts of climate change?
In my opinion, this issue demands urgent attention and action. It's not just about economic losses; it's about the very survival and well-being of millions of people. We need to find ways to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat, provide better working conditions and support for informal workers, and ensure that they are not left to bear the brunt of a crisis they did nothing to cause.
