04/27/2026
India is at the epicenter of a global heat crisis, with 95 of the world’s 100 hottest cities, facing a nationwide emergency driven by dry winds, delayed monsoons, and rising baseline temperatures, with little relief even at night.
For millions of informal workers, especially street vendors and gig workers, extreme heat is a dangerous full-blown labor rights crisis. Our affiliates Janpahal, and GiGWA are organizing frontline workers that are excluded from any Heat Action Plans despite being the majority of the workforce, facing falling incomes, rising health risks, and growing debt due to the effects of extreme heat. .
The solutions are urgently needed: access to drinking water, shaded rest areas, public toilets, and heat-resilient vending zones with cooling, storage, and shelter. Workers must be recognized as key stakeholders in city planning, with real protections against eviction and harassment, and a direct role in designing climate responses.
Heat justice means protecting both lives and livelihoods of the 90% of the population that are employed as informal workers. .
Gigwa India
