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Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds

A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55 percent since 2000. That increase is offset by fewer pollution deaths from primitive indoor stoves and water contaminated with human and animal waste, so overall pollution deaths in 2019 are about the same as 2015. The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to a new study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health. Tuesday’s pre-pandemic study is based on calculations derived from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. India and China lead the world in pollution deaths with nearly 2.4 million and almost 2.2 million deaths a year, but the two nations also have the world’s largest populations. When deaths are put on a per population rate, the United States ranks 31st from the bottom at 43.6 pollution deaths per 100,000. Chad and the Central African Republic rank the highest with rates about 300 pollution deaths per 100,000, more than half of them due to tainted water, while Brunei, Qatar and Iceland have the lowest pollution death rates ranging from 15 to 23. The global average is 117 pollution deaths per 100,000 people. A smog-covered downtown area of Yuncheng city, Shanxi Province, Nov 25, 2021. Pollution of all types is responsible for 9 million deaths a year globally, a new study says. Barcroft Media via Getty Images Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. “Nine million deaths is a lot of deaths,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. “The bad news is that it’s not decreasing,” Landrigan said. “We’re making gains in the easy stuff and we’re seeing the more difficult stuff, which is the ambient (outdoor industrial) air pollution and the chemical pollution, still going up.” It doesn’t have to be this way, researchers said. “They are preventable deaths. Each and every one of them is a death that is unnecessary,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who wasn’t part of the study. She said the calculations made sense and if anything. was so conservative about what it attributed to pollution, that the real death toll is likely higher. Fishermen catch fish in Megna river smoggy conditions in Narayanganj on January 21, 2022. Modern types of pollution are rising in most countries, especially developing ones. AFP via Getty Images The certificates for these deaths don’t say pollution. They list heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues and diabetes that are “tightly correlated” with pollution by numerous epidemiological studies, Landrigan said. To then put these together with actual deaths, researchers look at the number of deaths by cause, exposure to pollution weighted for various factors, and then complicated exposure response calculations derived by large epidemiological studies based on thousands of people over decades of study, he said. It’s the same way scientists can say cigarettes cause cancer and heart disease deaths. “That cannon of information constitutes causality,” Landrigan said. “That’s how we do it.” Five outside experts in public health and air pollution, including Goldman, told The Associated Press the study follows mainstream scientific thought. Dr. Renee Salas, an emergency room doctor and Harvard professor who wasn’t part of the study, said “the American Heart Association determined over a decade ago that exposure to (tiny pollution particles) like that generated from the burning of fossil fuels is causal for heart disease and death.” “While people focus on decreasing their blood pressure and cholesterol, few recognize that the removal of air pollution is an important prescription to improve their heart health,” Salas said. Three-quarters of the overall pollution deaths came from air pollution and the overwhelming part of that is “a combination of pollution from stationary sources like coal-fired power plants and steel mills on one hand and mobile sources like cars, trucks and buses. And it’s just a big global problem,” said Landrigan, a public health physician. “And it’s getting worse around the world as countries develop and cities grow.” This general view shows the Musalla Minarets Complex amid smog conditions in Herat on February 14, 2022. The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths. AFP via Getty Images In New Delhi, India, air pollution peaks in the winter months and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn’t considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months. That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it,” Roychowdhury said. Pollution deaths are soaring in the poorest areas, experts said. “This problem is worst in areas of the world where population is most dense (e.g. Asia) and where financial and government resources to address the pollution problem are limited and stretched thin to address a host of challenges including health care availability and diet as well as pollution,” said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute, who wasn’t part of the study. Heavy smog seen in area surrounding Ghazipur landfill in morning after fire continues on the second day since Monday afternoon on March 29, 2022 in New Delhi, India. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. Hindustan Times via Getty Images In 2000, industrial air pollution killed about 2.9 million people a year globally. By 2015 it was up to 4.2 million and in 2019 it was 4.5 million, the study said. Toss in household air pollution, mostly from inefficient primitive stoves, and air pollution killed 6.7 million people in 2019, the study found. Lead pollution — some from lead additive which has been banned from gasoline in every country in the world and also from old paint, recycling batteries and other manufacturing — kills 900,000 people a year, while water pollution is responsible for 1.4 million deaths a year. Occupational health pollution adds another 870,000 deaths, the study said. Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Enter your email address By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In the United States, about 20,000 people a year die from lead pollution-induced hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease, mostly as occupational hazards, Landrigan said. Lead and asbestos are America’s big chemical occupational hazards, and they kill about 65,000 people a year from pollution, he said. The study said the number of air pollution deaths in the United States in 2019 was 60,229, far more than deaths on American roads, which hit a 16-year peak of nearly 43,000 last year. Modern types of pollution are rising in most countries, especially developing ones, but fell from 2000 to 2019 in the United States, the European Union and Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s numbers can’t quite be explained and may be a reporting issue, said study co-author Richard Fuller, founder of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution and president of Pure Earth, a non-profit that works on pollution clean-up programs in about a dozen countries. The study authors came up with eight recommendations to reduce pollution deaths, highlighting the need for better monitoring, better reporting and stronger government systems regulating industry and cars. “We absolutely know how to solve each one of those problems,” Fuller said. “What’s missing is political will.”

Pollution kills nearly 24 lakh people in India in a year: Study

A study has claimed that pollution killed 24 lakh people in India in a year. The study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health blamed pollution of all types for 90 lakh deaths a year globally while the deaths due to dirty air from automobiles and industries have been rising 55% since 2000. Air pollution from industry processes along with urbanization drove a 7% increase in pollution-related deaths from 2015 to 2019, according to the scientists’ analysis of data on global mortality and pollution levels. The US is the only fully industrialised country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The world's most populated country China reported almost 22 lakh deaths a year because of pollution. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. According to Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College, the death certificates don't mention pollution as the reason, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues, and diabetes that are “tightly correlated" with pollution are mentioned. In New Delhi, India, air pollution peaks in the winter months, and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn't considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months. That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it," Roychowdhury said.

WATCH - India’s pollution deaths highest in 2019: 'Modern type of pollution is highly toxic', says Vivek Chattopadhyay

Clean Air campaign: The problem of pollution in India has reached its crescendo with the highest number of deaths being reported in the country. It is an issue that has to be discussed and actioned urgently and the Clean Air Campaign aims to find out the causes of the issue and possible solutions. New Delhi: India's pollution situation has crossed a critical point with a Lancet study concluding that India has the highest number of deaths due to pollution. The issue at hand is of utmost urgency and Mirror Now spoke to Vivek Chattopadhyay, Senior program manager, Clean Air campaign, from The Centre for Science and Environment to discuss the causes and find solutions to the problem. Chattopadhyay said, “The worrisome figures are due to the fact that our actions are far behind from what is expected to reduce the health application. Many children and elder people are developing health issues and it's not just the figure of deaths that is a worry but also the other health issues that arise from the rise in pollution. The modern type of pollution is highly toxic.” He further went on to add that the seriousness to tackle the issue seems to be missing. “We are falling far behind in what should be done to reduce pollution. We are not able to deal with the toxic and chemical pollution that is happening. The real solution lies in working on the ground. There has to be continuous monitoring of what is happening on the ground and if our actions to combat the menace are working.” While some argue that the death rate is lower in India owing to the large population, the point lies in why anyone should die due to pollution. "If we go by the focus that each life matters, then only will we be able to tackle the pollution problem. Many times, the problem is not even reported as people don't connect their health problem with pollution but other factors that might not actually have a nearing on the situation," Chattopadhyay asserted.

Explained: How pollution continues to be a giant killer in India

Pollution was responsible for 22 lakh deaths in India in 2019, according to a recent study. The death toll because of air pollution stood at 16.7 lakh, the most in any country Pollution killed 22 lakh people in India in a year. Air pollution was responsible for 16.7 lakh deaths in the country in 2019, according to a recent report on pollution and health published in The Lancet Planetary Health, the largest in any country. Ninety lakh people died across the world because of all types of pollution with the toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks, and industry rising 55 per cent since 2000. China remains the most polluted country with 24 lakhs death, India is a close second. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, according to the study. “9 million deaths is a lot of deaths,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. India’s pollution problems The report says that the amount of pollution in India remains well above the World Health Organisation guidelines in 93 per cent of the country. Of the 16.7 lakh air pollution-related deaths in the country, 9.8 lakh were caused by PM2.5 pollution, and another 6.1 lakh by household air pollution. The number of deaths from indoor air pollution and water pollution has decreased. However, these reductions are offset by increased deaths attributable to industrial pollution such as ambient air pollution and chemical pollution, the report pointed out. Air pollution is responsible for 17.8 per cent of all deaths in the country. The polluted spaces Air pollution is the most severe in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, which contains Delhi and some of the world’s most polluted cities. In New Delhi, air pollution peaks in the winter months and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn’t considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months, says The Associated Press, quoting the Lancet report. Burning of biomass in households was the single-largest cause of air pollution deaths in India, followed by coal combustion and crop burning, according to the report. Explained How pollution continues to be a giant killer in India Crop burning is one of the leading causes of air pollution in the country. AFP Government efforts The number of deaths remained high despite efforts by the government to control household air pollution including the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, an initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2016 to distribute LPG connections to below-poverty-line households. India has developed a National Clean Air Programme and in 2019 launched a Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region. However, India does not have a strong centralised administrative system to drive its air pollution control efforts and consequently improvements in overall air quality have been limited and uneven, the report has said, according to The Indian Express. It’s a South Asia problem That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, told AP. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it,” Roychowdhury said. Pollution deaths are soaring in the poorest areas, experts said. Explained How pollution continues to be a giant killer in India Pollution killed 90 lakh people globally in 2019. AFP Pollution and economic losses Economic losses due to modern forms of pollution have increased have proportion of GDP between 2000 and 2019 in India, China, and Nigeria, and are now conservatively estimated to amount to approximately 1% of the GDP in each of these countries. The full economic losses, if the full health impacts of pollution were to be counted and the effects of pollution on informal sectors and environmental damage were to be fully detailed are likely to be greater, the study said.

Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds

A new study blames pollution of all types for 9 million deaths a year globally, with the death toll attributed to dirty air from cars, trucks and industry rising 55% since 2000. That increase is offset by fewer pollution deaths from primitive indoor stoves and water contaminated with human and animal waste, so overall pollution deaths in 2019 are about the same as 2015. The United States is the only fully industrialized country in the top 10 nations for total pollution deaths, ranking 7th with 142,883 deaths blamed on pollution in 2019, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Ethiopia, according to a new study in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health. Tuesday’s pre-pandemic study is based on calculations derived from the Global Burden of Disease database and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle. India and China lead the world in pollution deaths with nearly 2.4 million and almost 2.2 million deaths a year, but the two nations also have the world’s largest populations. When deaths are put on a per population rate, the United States ranks 31st from the bottom at 43.6 pollution deaths per 100,000. Chad and the Central African Republic rank the highest with rates about 300 pollution deaths per 100,000, more than half of them due to tainted water, while Brunei, Qatar and Iceland have the lowest pollution death rates ranging from 15 to 23. The global average is 117 pollution deaths per 100,000 people. Pollution kills about the same number of people a year around the world as cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke combined, the study said. “9 million deaths is a lot of deaths,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College. “The bad news is that it’s not decreasing,” Landrigan said. “We’re making gains in the easy stuff and we’re seeing the more difficult stuff, which is the ambient (outdoor industrial) air pollution and the chemical pollution, still going up.” It doesn’t have to be this way, researchers said. “They are preventable deaths. Each and every one of them is a death that is unnecessary,” said Dr. Lynn Goldman, dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health, who wasn’t part of the study. She said the calculations made sense and if anything. was so conservative about what it attributed to pollution, that the real death toll is likely higher. The certificates for these deaths don’t say pollution. They list heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, other lung issues and diabetes that are “tightly correlated” with pollution by numerous epidemiological studies, Landrigan said. To then put these together with actual deaths, researchers look at the number of deaths by cause, exposure to pollution weighted for various factors, and then complicated exposure response calculations derived by large epidemiological studies based on thousands of people over decades of study, he said. It’s the same way scientists can say cigarettes cause cancer and heart disease deaths. “That cannon of information constitutes causality,” Landrigan said. “That’s how we do it.” Five outside experts in public health and air pollution, including Goldman, told The Associated Press the study follows mainstream scientific thought. Dr. Renee Salas, an emergency room doctor and Harvard professor who wasn’t part of the study, said “the American Heart Association determined over a decade ago that exposure to (tiny pollution particles) like that generated from the burning of fossil fuels is causal for heart disease and death.” “While people focus on decreasing their blood pressure and cholesterol, few recognize that the removal of air pollution is an important prescription to improve their heart health,” Salas said. Three-quarters of the overall pollution deaths came from air pollution and the overwhelming part of that is “a combination of pollution from stationary sources like coal-fired power plants and steel mills on one hand and mobile sources like cars, trucks and buses. And it’s just a big global problem,” said Landrigan, a public health physician. “And it’s getting worse around the world as countries develop and cities grow.” In New Delhi, India, air pollution peaks in the winter months and last year the city saw just two days when the air wasn’t considered polluted. It was the first time in four years that the city experienced a clean air day during the winter months. That air pollution remains the leading cause of death in South Asia reconfirms what is already known, but the increase in these deaths means that toxic emissions from vehicles and energy generation is increasing, said Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi. “This data is a reminder of what is going wrong but also that it is an opportunity to fix it,” Roychowdhury said. Pollution deaths are soaring in the poorest areas, experts said. “This problem is worst in areas of the world where population is most dense (e.g. Asia) and where financial and government resources to address the pollution problem are limited and stretched thin to address a host of challenges including health care availability and diet as well as pollution,” said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute, who wasn’t part of the study. In 2000, industrial air pollution killed about 2.9 million people a year globally. By 2015 it was up to 4.2 million and in 2019 it was 4.5 million, the study said. Toss in household air pollution, mostly from inefficient primitive stoves, and air pollution killed 6.7 million people in 2019, the study found. Lead pollution — some from lead additive which has been banned from gasoline in every country in the world and also from old paint, recycling batteries and other manufacturing — kills 900,000 people a year, while water pollution is responsible for 1.4 million deaths a year. Occupational health pollution adds another 870,000 deaths, the study said. In the United States, about 20,000 people a year die from lead pollution-induced hypertension, heart disease and kidney disease, mostly as occupational hazards, Landrigan said. Lead and asbestos are America’s big chemical occupational hazards, and they kill about 65,000 people a year from pollution, he said. The study said the number of air pollution deaths in the United States in 2019 was 60,229, far more than deaths on American roads, which hit a 16-year peak of nearly 43,000 last year. Modern types of pollution are rising in most countries, especially developing ones, but fell from 2000 to 2019 in the United States, the European Union and Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s numbers can’t quite be explained and may be a reporting issue, said study co-author Richard Fuller, founder of the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution and president of Pure Earth, a non-profit that works on pollution clean-up programs in about a dozen countries. The study authors came up with eight recommendations to reduce pollution deaths, highlighting the need for better monitoring, better reporting and stronger government systems regulating industry and cars. “We absolutely know how to solve each one of those problems,” Fuller said. “What’s missing is political will.”

प्रदूषण से हर साल जाती है 90 लाख लोगों की जान, भारत और चीन में सबसे ज्यादा मौतें

वायु प्रदूषण से बड़े शहर ज्यादा परेशान हैं. हर तरह के वाहन, उद्योग, सब प्रदूषण बढ़ाने में योदगान देते हैं. शहर जैसे-जैसे विकसित होते हैं, प्रदूषण भी व... https://www.aajtak.in/science/photo/global-pollution-kills-9-million-people-every-year-india-and-china-on-top-tstr-1465854-2022-05-18-9

रिसर्च में किया गया बड़ा दावा, भारत में प्रदूषण से एक साल में करीब 24 लाख लोगों की मौत

एक अध्ययन में दावा किया गया है कि प्रदूषण ने भारत में एक साल में 24 लाख लोगों की जान ले ली। द लैंसेट प्लैनेटरी हेल्थ जर्नल में अध्ययन ने वैश्विक स्तर पर हर साल 90 लाख मौतों के लिए सभी प्रकार के प्रदूषण को जिम्मेदार ठहराया, जबकि ऑटोमोबाइल और उद्योगों से गंदी हवा के कारण होने वाली मौतों में 2000 से 55% की वृद्धि हुई है। शहरीकरण के साथ-साथ उद्योग प्रक्रियाओं से वायु प्रदूषण ने एक वैश्विक मृत्यु दर और प्रदूषण के स्तर पर वैज्ञानिकों के आंकड़ों के विश्लेषण के अनुसार, 2015 से 2019 तक प्रदूषण से संबंधित मौतों में 7% की वृद्धि हुई है। कुल प्रदूषण से होने वाली मौतों के लिए शीर्ष 10 देशों में अमेरिका एकमात्र पूरी तरह से औद्योगिक देश है। दुनिया के सबसे अधिक आबादी वाले देश चीन में प्रदूषण के कारण हर साल लगभग 22 लाख मौतें होती हैं। अध्ययन में कहा गया है कि प्रदूषण से दुनिया भर में एक साल में उतनी ही संख्या में लोगों की मौत होती है, जितनी सिगरेट पीने और सेकेंड हैंड धुएं को मिलाकर होती है। बोस्टन कॉलेज में ग्लोबल पब्लिक हेल्थ प्रोग्राम और ग्लोबल पॉल्यूशन ऑब्जर्वेटरी के निदेशक फिलिप लैंड्रिगन के अनुसार, मृत्यु प्रमाण पत्र में प्रदूषण का कारण के रूप में उल्लेख नहीं है, हृदय रोग, स्ट्रोक, फेफड़ों का कैंसर, फेफड़ों के अन्य मुद्दों और मधुमेह (जो प्रदूषण के साथ "सहसंबद्ध" हैं) का उल्लेख किया गया है। नई दिल्ली, भारत में, वायु प्रदूषण सर्दियों के महीनों में चरम पर होता है और पिछले साल शहर में केवल दो दिन देखे, जब हवा को प्रदूषित नहीं माना गया था। चार वर्षों में यह पहली बार था, जब शहर ने सर्दियों के महीनों के दौरान स्वच्छ हवा का अनुभव किया। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड की एक निदेशक अनुमिता रॉयचौधरी ने कहा कि वायु प्रदूषण दक्षिण एशिया में मृत्यु का प्रमुख कारण बना हुआ है, जो पहले से ही ज्ञात की पुष्टि करता है, लेकिन इन मौतों में वृद्धि का मतलब है कि वाहनों से विषाक्त उत्सर्जन और ऊर्जा उत्पादन बढ़ रहा है। रॉयचौधरी ने कहा, "यह डेटा गलत होने की याद दिलाता है, लेकिन यह भी है कि यह इसे ठीक करने का एक अवसर है।"

Delhi: 3 weeks after fire, smouldering Bhalswa landfill casts a dark shadow on area

NEW DELHI: The flames may be out, but smoke continues to rise from the mound of garbage at Bhalswa landfill in north Delhi three weeks after a fire broke out there. Civic officials claimed that the smoke was due to the smouldering in the heaps of garbage being dumped every day, not in the legacy waste. “A major concern is that when the landfill smoulders for a long time, toxic emissions increase. When Bhalswa landfill caught fire, the impact of the combustion on air quality was reflected in the readings from the nearby monitoring stations,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment. “Also, since it is a dumpsite with mixed waste, the smouldering remains of a fire has a far more adverse effect on the health of local communities.” Timesview The fire at the landfill site has become a serious health-hazard for those living in nearby areas, especially in a city already ravaged by pollution. One shudders to think about the effect of the poisonous fumes on their bodies in the past three weeks. Authorities should try their best to put out the fire as quickly as possible. In fact, the air quality in the region, which has localities like Burari, Jahangirpuri, Rohini, Bawana and Alipur, has been mostly in the very poor category all these days. According to the officials, 5-6 acres of the 70-acre landfill is covered in smoke due to the daily dumping of unsegregated urban waste and the subsequent formation of methane gas. “The areas under the north corporation generate 4,500 tonnes of waste, around 50% of which reaches Bhalswa with the rest sent to the Narela-Bawana landfill for processing. The 2,230 tonnes dumped at Bhalswa is mostly wet and forms methane which catches fire at high temperatures,” claimed V K Gupta, director-in-chief, Bhalswa landfill. The waste sent to the Narela landfill — the only engineered sanitary facility in the city – is converted into compost or used in power generation. Officials claimed that they have been trying to extinguish the fire fully using the internal water sprinklers. The landfill caught fire on April 26, but despite all the efforts since then, a part of the landfill has continued to smoulder and the smoke is affecting the region's air quality. In April, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai has advised officials to replicate the gas sucking system installed in the landfill in Mumbai to prevent fires. However, Gupta said, “A few years ago we explored this technique but the National Green Tribunal denied its installation. The aim is to treat the entire mountain of garbage, so we are developing a scientific facility that will process the municipal waste. Once that facility is ready, we will finish the work on the legacy waste at Bhalswa and clear the landfill by 2024.” Gupta said so far 24 lakh tonnes of the 80 lakh tonnes of legacy waste had been processed. Inert waste constituted 50% of the treated material, municipal solid waste accounted for 30% and the rest was construction waste.

India's susceptibility to climate crises on display with heatwave

Experts in India have raised alarm over the susceptibility of the country to environmental issues as millions of Indians are struggling to cope with a record-shattering, scorching heatwave sweeping across the country with even birds dropping every day exhausted and dehydrated. India is currently witnessing an intense heatwave, with the India Meteorological Department saying that the country has recorded its warmest March in 122 years. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Mohammad Farooq Azam, who studies glaciers at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, said the ongoing heatwave in India and other South Asian countries is an example of climate change. "The last March and April months have been the hottest over the century and ongoing May is expected to be hotter by 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) than the average temperature in May," he said, adding that heatwaves cause severe damage to our society and other ecosystems. Avantika Goswami, program manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, a leading New Delhi-based environmental think-tank, said India is losing around 101 billion work hours per year due to extreme heat. "This will rise as global temperatures rise further. Our agricultural yield is already being affected by climate change, and so are the threats from sea level rise and extreme rainfall,” she said. Stating that the frequency and strength of such heatwaves are expected to increase in India due to climate change, Azam said as climate change is a global phenomenon, its solution must be at a global level with the active participation of all nations. "A sharp curbing of black carbon emissions at local as well as the global scale is needed to limit/reverse the imminent climate-change-related catastrophes," he said. While India is addressing the climate change issue by increasing dependency on renewable sources of energy, especially solar energy, Azam believes that there is a need to have more dedicated climate change research centers at the premier institutions in the country. Goswami said while India is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, it has "emitted only 3% of carbon dioxide emissions since 1870, making us a very small contributor to the climate crisis." She called for a plan to address coal dependence and goals need stronger implementation domestically. "We have fairly ambitious climate goals at the moment, focused mostly on decarbonizing our energy sector," she said. Suman Mor, chairperson at the Department of Environment Studies, in North India, based at Panjab University, said that climate models predict that India's climate will change quickly, which will put more stress on the country's natural ecosystems, agricultural output, and freshwater resources. She has recently completed a research project titled Improving adaptation strategies for climate extremes and air pollution affecting India. "If mitigation and adaptation steps are not taken quickly, wisely, and on a large scale, the effects of climate change are likely to make it very hard for the country to keep up its fast economic growth and reach the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that U.N. member states agreed to in 2015," she told AA. The Indian government, on the other hand, is maintaining that it is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change, which is the overarching policy framework for climate action in India. "Several other measures are taken, keeping in view the threat of climate change, by various departments, ministries, and entities of the Government, as part of their regular mandated activities and responsibilities. These are periodically shared with all stakeholders and the world through India’s National Communications and Biennial Update Reports submitted to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change," the government said in parliament last month.

No option’: Poor workers struggle amid India’s brutal heatwave

For construction worker Yogendra Tundre, life at a building site in Noida, a satellite city of the Indian capital New Delhi is hard enough. This year, record high temperatures are making it unbearable. As India grapples with an unprecedented heatwave, the country’s vast majority of poor workers, who generally work outdoors, are vulnerable to the scorching temperatures. “There is too much heat and if we won’t work, what will we eat? For a few days, we work and then we sit idle for a few days because of tiredness and heat,” Tundre said. Temperatures in the New Delhi area have touched 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) this year, often causing Tundre, and his wife Lata, who works at the same construction site, to fall sick. That in turn means they lose income. “Because of heat, sometimes I don’t go to work. I take days off… many times, fall sick from dehydration and then require glucose bottles (intravenous fluids),” Lata said while standing outside their house, a temporary shanty with a tin roof. Labourers work at a construction site on a hot summer day in Noida, India [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] Scientists have linked the early onset of an intense summer to climate change, and say more than a billion people in India and neighbouring Pakistan are in some way at risk from the extreme heat. India suffered its hottest March in more than 100 years and parts of the country experienced their highest temperatures on record in April. Many places, including New Delhi, saw the temperature gauge climb past 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). More than two dozen people have died of suspected heat strokes since late March, and power demand has hit multi-year highs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on state governments to draw up measures to mitigate the impact of the extreme heat Tundre and Lata live with their two young children in a slum near the construction site in Noida. They moved from their home state of Chhattisgarh in central India to seek work and higher wages around the capital. On the construction site, labourers scale the walls, lay concrete and carry heavy loads, with only ragged scarves around their heads as protection against the sun. But even when the couple finishes their day’s work, they have little respite as they return to their hot home, which has absorbed the heat of the sun all day long. Avikal Somvanshi, an urban environment researcher from India’s Centre for Science and Environment, said federal government data showed that heat stress was the most common cause of death, after lightning, from forces of nature in the last 20 years. “Most of these deaths occur in men aged 30 to 45. These are working-class, blue-collar men who have no option but to be working in the scorching heat,” Somvanshi said. There are no laws in India that prevent outdoor activity when temperatures surpass a certain level, unlike in some Middle-Eastern countries, Somvanshi said

Los trabajadores pobres se llevan la peor parte de la ola de calor en la India

Para el trabajador de la construcción Yogendra Tundre, la vida en una obra en las afueras de la capital india, Nueva Delhi, ya es bastante dura. Pero este año unas temperaturas históricamente altas la han vuelto insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que suelen trabajar al aire libre, son especialmente vulnerables a las abrasadoras temperaturas. “Hay demasiado calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué vamos a comer? Durante unos días trabajamos y luego nos quedamos sin hacer nada por el cansancio y el calor”, dijo Tundre. Las temperaturas en la zona de Nueva Delhi han rozado este año los 45 grados centígrados, lo que a menudo hace que Tundre, y su esposa Lata, que trabaja en la misma obra, caigan enfermos. Eso, a su vez, significa que pierden ingresos. Según el Departamento Meteorológico de India (IMD, por sus siglas en inglés), es probable que la incesante ola de calor haga que algunas partes de Nueva Delhi alcancen temperaturas superiores a los 49ºC el lunes. “A causa del calor, a veces no voy a trabajar. Me tomo días libres (…) muchas veces, caigo enferma por deshidratación y luego necesito botellas de glucosa (fluidos intravenosos)”, dijo Lata mientras se encontraba fuera de su casa, una chabola provisional con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han vinculado la aparición temprana de un verano intenso al cambio climático y afirman que más de mil millones de personas en India y la vecina Pakistán corren algún tipo de riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió este año su marzo más caluroso en más de 100 años y algunas partes del país experimentaron sus temperaturas más altas jamás registradas en abril. En muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, se superaron los 40°C. Más de una veintena de personas han muerto por presuntos golpes de calor desde finales de marzo y la demanda de electricidad ha alcanzado máximos de varios años. El primer ministro indio, Narendra Modi, ha pedido a los Gobiernos estatales que elaboren medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Tundre y Lata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en una barriada cercana a las obras de Noida, una ciudad satélite de Nueva Delhi. Se trasladaron desde su estado natal, Chhattisgarh, en el centro de India, para buscar trabajo y salarios más altos en los alrededores de la capital. En la obra, los trabajadores escalan muros, colocan hormigón y transportan pesadas cargas, envolviendo sus cabezas en pañuelos de trapo para protegerlas del sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina su jornada de trabajo, apenas tiene respiro, ya que su casa está caldeada tras haber absorbido el calor del sol durante todo el día. Avikal Somvanshi, medioambientalista urbano del Centro para la Ciencia y el Medio Ambiente de India, dijo que los datos del Gobierno federal muestran que el estrés térmico por calor es la causa más común de muerte causada por fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos 20 años, después de los rayos. “La mayoría de estas muertes se producen en hombres de entre 30 y 45 años. Se trata de hombres de clase obrera que no tienen otra opción que trabajar bajo un calor abrasador”, dijo Somvanshi. En India no hay leyes que impidan la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas superan un determinado nivel, a diferencia de lo que ocurre en algunos países de Oriente Medio, dijo Somvanshi. (Información de Sunil Kataria en Nueva Delhi; redacción de Shilpa Jamkhandikar; edición de Neil Fullick y Bradley Perrett; traducción de Darío Fernández)

Los trabajadores pobres son los más afectados por la ola de calor en la India

Para el trabajador de la construcción Yogendra Tundri, la vida en un sitio de construcción en las afueras de la capital de India, Nueva Delhi, es bastante dura. Este año, las altas temperaturas récord lo están haciendo insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que generalmente trabajan al aire libre, están expuestos a temperaturas abrasadoras. «Hace mucho calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué vamos a comer? Durante unos días, trabajamos y luego nos sentamos sin trabajar durante unos días debido a la fatiga y el calor», dijo Tendre. Las temperaturas en el área de Nueva Delhi han alcanzado los 45 grados centígrados (113 Fahrenheit) este año, lo que a menudo hace que Tendri y su esposa Lata, que trabajan en el mismo sitio de construcción, se enfermen. Esto a su vez significa que pierden ingresos. Es probable que la severa ola de calor haga que algunas partes de Delhi experimenten temperaturas superiores a los 120 grados Fahrenheit el lunes, según el Departamento Meteorológico de India (IMD). Lata dijo mientras estaba parada afuera de su casa, una choza improvisada con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han relacionado el comienzo temprano de un verano sofocante con el cambio climático, y dicen que más de mil millones de personas en los vecinos India y Pakistán están de alguna manera en riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió su marzo más cálido en más de 100 años y partes del país experimentaron las temperaturas más altas en abril. Los trabajadores trabajan en un sitio de construcción en un caluroso día de verano en Noida, India, 12 de mayo de 2022. REUTERS/Anushri Fadnavis Muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, han visto la escala de temperatura por encima de los 40 grados centígrados. Más de dos docenas de personas han muerto por un supuesto golpe de calor desde finales de marzo, y la demanda de electricidad está en su nivel más alto en varios años. El primer ministro Narendra Modi ha pedido a los gobiernos estatales que implementen medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Lee mas Tendri y Laata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en un barrio pobre cerca del sitio de construcción en Noida, una ciudad perteneciente a Nueva Delhi. Se mudaron de su estado natal de Chhattisgarh en el centro de India para buscar trabajo y salarios más altos en la capital. En el sitio de construcción, los trabajadores escalan paredes, colocan concreto y transportan cargas pesadas, usando bufandas andrajosas alrededor de sus cabezas para protegerse del sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina su trabajo diario, no descansan lo suficiente porque su casa está caliente, después de haber absorbido el calor del sol todo el día. Los datos del gobierno federal mostraron que el estrés por calor fue la causa más común de muerte, después de los rayos, debido a las fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos 20 años, dijo Avikal Somvanshi, investigador del medio ambiente urbano del Centro para la Ciencia y el Medio Ambiente de la India. READ La Unión Europea puede ofrecer a Hungría y Eslovaquia exenciones del embargo petrolero ruso «La mayoría de estas muertes ocurren entre hombres de entre 30 y 45 años. Estos son hombres de clase trabajadora que no tienen más remedio que trabajar en el calor sofocante», dijo Somfanci. Somvanshi dijo que no hay leyes en India que prohíban la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas bajan de cierto nivel, a diferencia de algunos países del Medio Oriente.

Los trabajadores pobres son los más afectados por la ola de calor en la India

Para la trabajadora de la construcción Yogendra Tundre, la vida en una obra en las afueras de la capital india, Nueva Delhi, es bastante dura. Este año, las altas temperaturas récord lo están haciendo insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que generalmente trabajan al aire libre, son vulnerables a las temperaturas abrasadoras. “Hace demasiado calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué comeremos? Durante unos días, trabajamos y luego nos quedamos sin hacer nada por el cansancio y el calor”, dijo Tundre. Las temperaturas en el área de Nueva Delhi han alcanzado los 45 grados centígrados (113 Fahrenheit) este año, lo que a menudo hace que Tundre y su esposa Lata, que trabajan en el mismo sitio de construcción, se enfermen. Eso a su vez significa que pierden ingresos. Es probable que la implacable ola de calor provoque que algunas partes de Delhi experimenten temperaturas superiores a los 120 grados Fahrenheit el lunes, según el Departamento Meteorológico de India (IMD). “Debido al calor, a veces no voy a trabajar. Me tomo días libres… muchas veces, me deshidrato y luego requiero botellas de glucosa (líquidos intravenosos)”, dijo Lata mientras estaba de pie afuera de su casa, una chabola temporal. con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han relacionado el inicio temprano de un verano intenso con el cambio climático, y dicen que más de mil millones de personas en India y el vecino Pakistán están de alguna manera en riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió su marzo más caluroso en más de 100 años y partes del país experimentaron sus temperaturas más altas registradas en abril. Los trabajadores trabajan en un sitio de construcción en un caluroso día de verano en Noida, India, 12 de mayo de 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis En muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, el indicador de temperatura superó los 40 grados centígrados. Más de dos docenas de personas han muerto por supuestos golpes de calor desde finales de marzo, y la demanda de energía ha alcanzado máximos de varios años. El primer ministro Narendra Modi ha pedido a los gobiernos estatales que elaboren medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Lee mas Tundre y Lata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en un barrio pobre cerca del sitio de construcción en Noida, una ciudad satélite de Nueva Delhi. Se mudaron de su estado natal de Chhattisgarh en el centro de India para buscar trabajo y mejores salarios en la capital. En el sitio de construcción, los trabajadores trepan paredes, colocan concreto y transportan cargas pesadas, usando pañuelos andrajosos alrededor de sus cabezas como protección contra el sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina el trabajo del día, tienen poco respiro ya que su casa es calurosa, habiendo absorbido el calor del sol durante todo el día. Avikal Somvanshi, investigador del medio ambiente urbano del Centro de Ciencias y Medio Ambiente de la India, dijo que los datos del gobierno federal mostraron que el estrés por calor fue la causa más común de muerte, después de los rayos, por fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos 20 años. “La mayoría de estas muertes ocurren en hombres de 30 a 45 años. Estos son hombres de clase trabajadora que no tienen otra opción que trabajar bajo un calor abrasador”, dijo Somvanshi. No hay leyes en India que impidan la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas superan cierto nivel, a diferencia de algunos países del Medio Oriente, dijo Somvanshi.

Los trabajadores pobres son los más afectados por la ola de calor en la India

Para la trabajadora de la construcción Yogendra Tundre, la vida en una obra en las afueras de la capital india, Nueva Delhi, es bastante dura. Este año, las altas temperaturas récord lo están haciendo insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que generalmente trabajan al aire libre, son vulnerables a las temperaturas abrasadoras. “Hace demasiado calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué comeremos? Durante unos días, trabajamos y luego nos quedamos sin hacer nada por el cansancio y el calor”, dijo Tundre. Regístrese ahora para obtener acceso ilimitado GRATIS a Reuters.com Las temperaturas en el área de Nueva Delhi han alcanzado los 45 grados centígrados (113 Fahrenheit) este año, lo que a menudo hace que Tundre y su esposa Lata, que trabajan en el mismo sitio de construcción, se enfermen. Eso a su vez significa que pierden ingresos. “Debido al calor, a veces no voy a trabajar. Me tomo días libres… muchas veces, me deshidrato y luego requiero botellas de glucosa (líquidos intravenosos)”, dijo Lata mientras estaba de pie afuera de su casa, una chabola temporal. con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han relacionado el inicio temprano de un verano intenso con el cambio climático, y dicen que más de mil millones de personas en India y el vecino Pakistán estaban de alguna manera en riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió su marzo más caluroso en más de 100 años y partes del país experimentaron sus temperaturas más altas registradas en abril. Los trabajadores trabajan en un sitio de construcción en un caluroso día de verano en Noida, India, 12 de mayo de 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis En muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, el indicador de temperatura superó los 40 grados centígrados. Más de dos docenas de personas han muerto por supuestos golpes de calor desde finales de marzo, y la demanda de energía ha alcanzado máximos de varios años. El primer ministro Narendra Modi ha pedido a los gobiernos estatales que elaboren medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Lee mas Tundre y Lata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en un barrio pobre cerca del sitio de construcción en Noida, una ciudad satélite de Nueva Delhi. Se mudaron de su estado natal de Chhattisgarh en el centro de India para buscar trabajo y salarios más altos en la capital. En el sitio de construcción, los trabajadores trepan paredes, colocan concreto y transportan cargas pesadas, usando pañuelos andrajosos alrededor de sus cabezas como protección contra el sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina el trabajo del día, tienen poco respiro ya que su casa es calurosa, habiendo absorbido el calor del sol durante todo el día. Avikal Somvanshi, investigador del medio ambiente urbano del Centro de Ciencias y Medio Ambiente de la India, dijo que los datos del gobierno federal mostraron que el estrés por calor fue la causa más común de muerte, después de los rayos, por fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos veinte años. “La mayoría de estas muertes ocurren en hombres de 30 a 45 años. Estos son hombres de clase trabajadora que no tienen otra opción que trabajar bajo un calor abrasador”, dijo Somvanshi. No hay leyes en India que impidan la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas superan cierto nivel, a diferencia de algunos países del Medio Oriente, dijo Somvanshi.

Los trabajadores pobres se llevan la peor parte de la ola de calor en la India

Para el trabajador de la construcción Yogendra Tundre, la vida en una obra en las afueras de la capital india, Nueva Delhi, ya es bastante dura. Pero este año unas temperaturas históricamente altas la han vuelto insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que suelen trabajar al aire libre, son especialmente vulnerables a las abrasadoras temperaturas. “Hay demasiado calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué vamos a comer? Durante unos días trabajamos y luego nos quedamos sin hacer nada por el cansancio y el calor”, dijo Tundre. Las temperaturas en la zona de Nueva Delhi han rozado este año los 45 grados centígrados, lo que a menudo hace que Tundre, y su esposa Lata, que trabaja en la misma obra, caigan enfermos. Eso, a su vez, significa que pierden ingresos. Según el Departamento Meteorológico de India (IMD, por sus siglas en inglés), es probable que la incesante ola de calor haga que algunas partes de Nueva Delhi alcancen temperaturas superiores a los 49ºC el lunes. “A causa del calor, a veces no voy a trabajar. Me tomo días libres (…) muchas veces, caigo enferma por deshidratación y luego necesito botellas de glucosa (fluidos intravenosos)”, dijo Lata mientras se encontraba fuera de su casa, una chabola provisional con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han vinculado la aparición temprana de un verano intenso al cambio climático y afirman que más de mil millones de personas en India y la vecina Pakistán corren algún tipo de riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió este año su marzo más caluroso en más de 100 años y algunas partes del país experimentaron sus temperaturas más altas jamás registradas en abril. En muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, se superaron los 40°C. Más de una veintena de personas han muerto por presuntos golpes de calor desde finales de marzo y la demanda de electricidad ha alcanzado máximos de varios años. El primer ministro indio, Narendra Modi, ha pedido a los Gobiernos estatales que elaboren medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Tundre y Lata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en una barriada cercana a las obras de Noida, una ciudad satélite de Nueva Delhi. Se trasladaron desde su estado natal, Chhattisgarh, en el centro de India, para buscar trabajo y salarios más altos en los alrededores de la capital. En la obra, los trabajadores escalan muros, colocan hormigón y transportan pesadas cargas, envolviendo sus cabezas en pañuelos de trapo para protegerlas del sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina su jornada de trabajo, apenas tiene respiro, ya que su casa está caldeada tras haber absorbido el calor del sol durante todo el día. Avikal Somvanshi, medioambientalista urbano del Centro para la Ciencia y el Medio Ambiente de India, dijo que los datos del Gobierno federal muestran que el estrés térmico por calor es la causa más común de muerte causada por fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos 20 años, después de los rayos. “La mayoría de estas muertes se producen en hombres de entre 30 y 45 años. Se trata de hombres de clase obrera que no tienen otra opción que trabajar bajo un calor abrasador”, dijo Somvanshi. En India no hay leyes que impidan la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas superan un determinado nivel, a diferencia de lo que ocurre en algunos países de Oriente Medio, dijo Somvanshi.

Los trabajadores pobres se llevan la peor parte de la ola de calor en la india

Para el trabajador de la construcción Yogendra Tundre, la vida en una obra en las afueras de la capital india, Nueva Delhi, ya es bastante dura. Pero este año unas temperaturas históricamente altas la han vuelto insoportable. Mientras India se enfrenta a una ola de calor sin precedentes, la gran mayoría de los trabajadores pobres del país, que suelen trabajar al aire libre, son especialmente vulnerables a las abrasadoras temperaturas. «Hay demasiado calor y si no trabajamos, ¿qué vamos a comer? Durante unos días trabajamos y luego nos quedamos sin hacer nada por el cansancio y el calor», dijo Tundre. Las temperaturas en la zona de Nueva Delhi han rozado este año los 45 grados centígrados, lo que a menudo hace que Tundre, y su esposa Lata, que trabaja en la misma obra, caigan enfermos. Eso, a su vez, significa que pierden ingresos. Según el Departamento Meteorológico de India (IMD, por sus siglas en inglés), es probable que la incesante ola de calor haga que algunas partes de Nueva Delhi alcancen temperaturas superiores a los 49ºC el lunes. «A causa del calor, a veces no voy a trabajar. Me tomo días libres (…) muchas veces, caigo enferma por deshidratación y luego necesito botellas de glucosa (fluidos intravenosos)», dijo Lata mientras se encontraba fuera de su casa, una chabola provisional con techo de hojalata. Los científicos han vinculado la aparición temprana de un verano intenso al cambio climático y afirman que más de mil millones de personas en India y la vecina Pakistán corren algún tipo de riesgo por el calor extremo. India sufrió este año su marzo más caluroso en más de 100 años y algunas partes del país experimentaron sus temperaturas más altas jamás registradas en abril. En muchos lugares, incluida Nueva Delhi, se superaron los 40°C. Más de una veintena de personas han muerto por presuntos golpes de calor desde finales de marzo y la demanda de electricidad ha alcanzado máximos de varios años. El primer ministro indio, Narendra Modi, ha pedido a los Gobiernos estatales que elaboren medidas para mitigar el impacto del calor extremo. Tundre y Lata viven con sus dos hijos pequeños en una barriada cercana a las obras de Noida, una ciudad satélite de Nueva Delhi. Se trasladaron desde su estado natal, Chhattisgarh, en el centro de India, para buscar trabajo y salarios más altos en los alrededores de la capital. En la obra, los trabajadores escalan muros, colocan hormigón y transportan pesadas cargas, envolviendo sus cabezas en pañuelos de trapo para protegerlas del sol. Pero incluso cuando la pareja termina su jornada de trabajo, apenas tiene respiro, ya que su casa está caldeada tras haber absorbido el calor del sol durante todo el día. Avikal Somvanshi, medioambientalista urbano del Centro para la Ciencia y el Medio Ambiente de India, dijo que los datos del Gobierno federal muestran que el estrés térmico por calor es la causa más común de muerte causada por fuerzas de la naturaleza en los últimos 20 años, después de los rayos. «La mayoría de estas muertes se producen en hombres de entre 30 y 45 años. Se trata de hombres de clase obrera que no tienen otra opción que trabajar bajo un calor abrasador», dijo Somvanshi. En India no hay leyes que impidan la actividad al aire libre cuando las temperaturas superan un determinado nivel, a diferencia de lo que ocurre en algunos países de Oriente Medio, dijo Somvanshi. (Información de Sunil Kataria en Nueva Delhi; redacción de Shilpa Jamkhandikar; edición de Neil Fullick y Bradley Perrett; traducción de Darío Fernández)