Poor Bear Brunt Of Heatwave
For construction worker Yogendra Tundre, life at a construction site on the outskirts of New Delhi is tough enough. This year's record high temperatures are making it unbearable. As India grapples with an unprecedented heatwave, most of the country's poor workers, who usually work outside, are in the grip of the scorching heat. "It's too hot and if we don't work, what will we eat? For a few days, we work and then we sit idle for a few days due to fatigue and heat,” Mr. Tundre said. Temperatures have soared to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in the New Delhi area this year, often making Mr. Tundre and his wife Lata, who work at the same construction site, sick. This means they lose income. “Due to the heat, sometimes I don't go to work. I take days off... at times, fall ill from dehydration and then need glucose bottles (intravenous fluids)," said Lata, standing outside her house, a makeshift shack with a tin roof . Scientists have linked the onset of intense heat to climate change, and say more than a billion people in India and neighboring Pakistan were at risk of some form of extreme heat. India faced its warmest March in more than 100 years and parts of the country recorded their highest temperatures in April. The maximum temperature was recorded at 40 degree Celsius at many places including New Delhi. Since late March, more than two dozen people have died of suspected heat stroke and electricity demand has reached an all-time high. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the state governments to take measures to mitigate the effects of the scorching heat. Mr. Tundre and Lata live with their two young children in a slum near a construction site in Noida. They moved from their home state of Chhattisgarh in search of work and higher wages around the capital. At the construction site, workers erect walls, lay concrete and lift heavy loads, using scarves torn around their heads as protection from the sun. Even when the couple has finished their day job, they find some relief as their home is warm, absorbing the sun's heat throughout the day. Avikal Somvanshi, an urban environmental researcher at the Center for Science and Environment, said government data shows heat stress was the most common cause of death after lightning in the past twenty years. Somvanshi said, “Most of these deaths occur in men in the age group of 30-45 years. These are working class, blue-collar men who have no choice but to work in the scorching heat.” Mr Somvanshi said there is no law in India that prohibits outdoor activity, unlike some Middle-Eastern countries, when the temperature crosses a certain level.