Rising heatwaves and falling incomes challenge the survival of informal workers in urban India

A severe heatwave is currently sweeping across India. Many parts of the country including the central and northwest regions have been witnessing scorching heatwaves, as well as rising humidity, since mid-April, as per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

With climate change pushing the limits of what’s normal, scientists warn that future temperatures in India could rise anywhere between ±1.2° C to ±3.5°C. But beyond the headlines and heat alerts, there’s a quieter crisis unfolding—one that affects the most vulnerable in our cities: informal sector workers. These are the street vendors, construction workers, rag pickers, fish vendors, delivery riders, and countless others who make up the backbone of urban India’s workforce.

A closer look at informal labour and rising temperatures

In countries like India, a significant share of the workforce—nearly 82%—earns a living through informal employment. This often means working without the safeguards of formal contracts, health coverage, insurance, or legal protections. For people in these roles, heatwaves don’t just bring discomfort—they pose serious health and livelihood risks. With no paid sick leave or sheltered workplaces, many continue working in intense heat, facing dehydration, fatigue, and other heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Long-term heat exposure can also lead to other physiological complications such as acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The toll is immense. Between 2001 and 2020, India lost an estimated 259 billion labour hours each year due to extreme heat and humidity. In economic terms, this adds up to a loss of approximately ₹46 lakh crore. But beyond the numbers lies a deeper concern: heatwaves are not only a growing public health emergency—they are also an equity issue, disproportionately impacting those who already face economic and social vulnerabilities.

What rising temperatures mean for the informal workforce

A recent study on the impact of high heat on health and productivity of informal outdoor workers such as those from agriculture, construction, brick manufacturing, saltpan workers and those working in stone quarries across 11 districts of Tamil Nadu in South India found that the workers experienced considerable health impacts and productivity losses.

• As high as 88% of the workers were exposed to heat levels above the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) during summer. Wet Bulb Global Temperatures (WBGTs) exceeded the safe working limits in 3/4th of the workplaces, including agriculture, construction, brick making, saltpan, and stone quarrying.

• Workers experienced significant heat strain with symptoms such as excessive perspiration, excessive thirst, tiredness, cramps, headache, nausea/ vomiting, fainting, or prickly heat.

• About 3/4 of the workers experienced productivity losses and said it took them longer than expected to meet their daily work targets.

• Agricultural workers reported greater sick leave/absenteeism owing to heat-related health difficulties, whereas salt-pan workers claimed "wages lost" and hospitalisation due to heat-related illnesses.

Another study on the impact of heat on brick kiln workers in Andhra Pradesh found that most workers were engaged in high-exertion tasks such as brick loading/unloading and brick molding. The prevalence of heat related illnesses was the highest among among workers involved in kiln firing and brick loading/unloading as compared to drivers, brick moulders etc. Health related illnesses reported by workers included very high levels of sweating, extreme dehydration, fatigue, and muscle cramps.

A study from North India that examined the lives of 400 urban informal-sector workers that included launderers, construction workers, painters, coolies, cycle rickshaw drivers, rag pickers etc from two slums in Delhi during the peak heat of May – June 2019 with respect to their work done, earnings, and hours worked found that:

• Informal workers experienced significant income losses due to absence from work, sickness, loss of sleep, increased expenses due to the requirement for more water and ice, and increased visits to doctors.

• The probability of not going to work among the workers was high at 17 percent and continued to increase by 1 to 2 percent per degree rise in temperature.

• A one-degree increase in temperature increased the probability of sickness in the family by 5 to 7 percent.

• A one-degree increase in mean temperature was associated with a decline in net earnings of about 16 percent, while a one-degree increase in wet bulb temperature led to a decline of 19 percent in net earnings.

• Humidity had a negative effect on earnings, with a 1 percent increase in relative humidity found to be associated with a fall in net earnings by 3.5 percent.

• Medical expenditure increased by 9 percent with every degree increase in maximum or minimum temperature. Workers also tried to cope with the intense heat by spending money on buying water or ice and staying hydrated while working.

• Net earnings of the workers were 40 percent lower on heatwave days than on non-heatwave days. They were 6 percent less likely to go to work and were 25 percent more likely to be sick or have a family member who was sick during the heat waves.

Women from the informal sector are more vulnerable to the impacts of high heat

Extreme heat can have severe impacts on informal economy women workers’ health in both rural and urban areas. Women report a range of health problems from skin irritation, heatstroke, stomach issues, headaches, fatigue, and dehydration. This affects their daily earnings negatively as they stay away from work due to illnesses and only get paid for the hours worked. This forces many women to continue working despite poor health.

A recent study by MSSRF found that women in heat-prone districts experienced very high health risks due to rising temperatures. As high as 70% of women reported physical health symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, dehydration, and gastrointestinal discomfort during peak heat months. While women also talked of reproductive and menstrual health issues including urinary tract infections, irregular bleeding, and cycle disruptions, many continued to be dismissed or overlooked in both personal care-seeking and provider responses. Women in rural areas reported higher reproductive health impacts than women in urban areas.

What steps can be undertaken to help the informal sector to cope with heat stress

A recent discussion paper titled ‘Heat stress, labour well-being, and productivity amidst heat waves’ by Social Policy Research Foundation India (SPRF), India, authored by Anirudh Krishnan, makes some short- and long-term recommendations to help reduce the heat stress on outdoor informal workers exposed to heat waves, such as:

Nationwide implementation of Heat Action Plans (HAPs)

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) released national guidelines for heat wave management in 2016, and 17 heat wave-prone states and 120 districts and cities prepared heat action plans based on these guidelines. In May 2022, the government of India further urged state governments to draft heat action plans [HAPs] at the state, city, and district levels to avoid heat-related deaths and illnesses.

However, a recent analysis of the implementation of HAPs in nine cities in 9 Indian states finds that while cities are prepared in terms of short term emergency measures like access to drinking water, changing work schedules, and boosting hospital capacity before or during a heat wave, mainstreaming of long-term solutions to reduce the increasing risk of heat waves continues to be inadequate, with the only focus being on the health systems.

Restructuring of the informal sector and promoting shift work

Ensuring mandatory workplace regulations

Mandatory workplace regulations can protect workers from the ill effects of heat stress. Employers can reduce working intensity during hot days and provide both male and female workers with cooling measures like rest areas, cold water, and frequent breaks. Regulations can also ensure that women workers are able to access safe and hygienic washroom facilities and regular breaks for managing their menstrual and toilet needs. Incentives such as payment of high-temperature allowances when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold can also help in making workers financially stable.

Improving green cover in cities

The green cover in Indian cities is declining at rapid rates due to aggressive construction and concretisation. Evidence shows that green spaces and trees also help reduce the urban heat-island effect, making cities cooler. Regulations and policy interventions that encourage green spaces and trees in urban areas, prevent destruction of trees in cities, and encourage development models that incorporate green cover in their designs are crucial.

Policy reforms to include gender responsive heat action

The MSSRF report recommends:

• Reframing heat as a long-term public health and development priority and strengthening institutional leadership and governance.

• Fragmentation across departments weakens heat action at the ground level. There is a need to improve cross-sectoral convergence and local implementation

• Primary health systems remain underprepared to address heat-related illnesses among vulnerable women. There is an urgent need to strengthen the existing health care systems by adapting them to current health concerns.

• Heat-health interventions remain poorly guided by data. There is an urgent need to generate and use gender-sensitive data and research while framing policies and designing interventions.

• There is a need to improve workplace heat safety and informal worker protection and expand access to climate-resilient infrastructure and services.

• There is a need to integrate mental health services into health responses and build better and inclusive communication systems

• As heat risks intensify across the country, HAPs must be expanded beyond traditionally heatprone regions. A national strategy is needed that centres heat within development planning, gender equity, and health security.