India Heatwaves Take Toll On Most Vulnerable

Recurring heatwaves in India’s capital, New Delhi, have taken their toll on construction worker Mamta as she laboured and sweats through a gruelling 12-hour work day.

“In the afternoon, the situation is terrible. You feel like you are in a hot oven,” Mamta said from her work site in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area. “It is very difficult to work in such heat … but my family depends on my
earnings.” Reports said.

The Indian Meteorological Department, IMD, on May 22, issued heatwave warnings for New Delhi, as well as adjoining states Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

“Temperatures in certain areas of the capital, which have a population of more than 20 million, recently crossed 45 degrees Celsius, 113 degrees Fahrenheit, making it one of the hottest days of the year.”

The IMD said temperatures will fall as rain showers are expected in areas subsumed by the heatwave and will provide much-needed relief. However, it warned that more scorching weather lies ahead in the coming weeks and months.

“India has always been a hot country, and extreme heat is a fact of life,” Aditya Pillai of the Centre of Policy Research, CPR, said.

“But the number of extremely hot days and heatwaves, which are consecutive hot days, have been increasing across the country,” he said, citing climate change and rising temperatures as “big drivers” behind the increase

A study published earlier this month showed heatwaves in South Asian nations, including India, Bangladesh, and Thailand, which were made 30 times more likely because of the climate crisis.

Aljazeera/Shakirat Sadiq