Survival over safety: Delhi's poor workers brave 45°C heat

As temperatures in Delhi, India reach 45°C, informal workers continue their daily labour despite serious health risks. For many, stopping work is not an option, as their survival depends on daily income. The extreme heat highlights the dangerous conditions faced by millions of low-income workers in the city.

In Delhi, India, temperatures have climbed to a scorching 45°C, yet millions of informal workers — street vendors, construction labourers, and rickshaw drivers — remain on the streets and job sites, unable to afford the luxury of staying home.

For these workers, the calculus is brutal and simple: stop working, stop eating. Despite government heat advisories urging people to stay indoors during peak afternoon hours, economic necessity overrides safety for a vast segment of Delhi's population with no paid sick leave, no savings, and no social safety net to fall back on.

Heat-related illness poses a genuine and growing threat. Medical professionals warn that prolonged exposure to temperatures above 40°C can lead to heat exhaustion and potentially fatal heatstroke, particularly for those doing physical labour outdoors. Hospitals across Delhi have reported an uptick in heat-related admissions as the summer intensifies.

Climate scientists note that extreme heat events in South Asia are becoming more frequent and more severe due to climate change, placing the greatest burden on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. Delhi, one of the world's most populous cities, is particularly exposed, with its dense urban landscape and limited green cover amplifying heat through the so-called urban heat island effect.

Activists and labour rights organisations have called on the Indian government to expand social protection programmes and enforce occupational heat safety standards for outdoor workers. Without systemic change, they warn, each summer will bring a renewed cycle of suffering for those who simply cannot afford to stop working.