Heatwaves are breaking Delhi’s migrant workers, and their incomes

As Delhi sizzles past 45°C, thousands of migrant workers face the city’s brutal heat without rest, shade, or protection.

Prakhar Dobhal

Swara Garge

As Delhi sizzles past 45°C, thousands of migrant workers face the city’s brutal heat without rest, shade, or protection. This video captures the invisible crisis unfolding on Delhi’s streets, where rising temperatures and falling incomes are pushing workers to their limits. A Greenpeace India study found that 80% of street vendors see a drop in income during heatwaves. With no shade, no rest, and no safety net, these workers are forced to choose between their health and their next meal. In this ground report, we spoke with daily wage workers and labour union members to understand how Delhi’s heatwaves are quietly destroying livelihoods. This is the economic face of climate change — and it’s already here.

Story editor: Asmita Nandy 

Prakhar Dobhal and Swara Garge are Delhi-based visual journalists

This story is produced as part of The Heat Shift series that will explore the unequal impact of heat on some of the world’s most marginalised

The author has researched the subject for an ongoing project on rising heat undertaken for People First Cities that looks at inclusive, participatory approaches to improve the quality of life of informal settlement residents and informal workers.