New Delhi: 

"This heat, it does not just burn your skin, it burns your soul," says Ramu, a 44-year-old rickshaw puller. He used to work for 10-12 hours a day and now is done after 5 hours.

Sandeep Verma, Convenor of the Indian Hawkers Alliance “frontline informal workers like rickshaw pullers, construction workers, street vendors, and gig workers are interconnected. Their livelihoods are deeply dependent on each other. The working class faces a common set of challenges. They they all struggle with daily survival during heatwaves.”

Verma goes on to add: “These workers are often not registered under labour laws, so they are excluded from protections. We have strong laws like the Street Vendors Act, but implementation is nearly zero. Instead of protection, vendors in Delhi are facing eviction and harassment. Structures are being demolished illegally."

For millions of informal workers in India, climate change is no longer a distant environmental threat, it is an assault on their everyday existence. Foe hundreds of street vendors, waste pickers, domestic workers, and rickshaw pullers the climate crisis is biological, not just ecological.

For over 90% of India's informal sector labour force, the climate crisis is an unrelenting struggle. From Seemapuri to Kashmere Gate, across mounds of garbage to the backs of apartment buildings, Delhi's informal workers are breaking down, physically, financially, and invisibly.

Indian Hawkers Alliance has started a grassroots initiative called Vendor Social Responsibility (VSR). “This is our version of CSR. There are no public toilets, especially for women, forcing them to reduce water intake and risking their health. Government schemes or relief measures barely reach them.” The Alliance is setting up local cooling stations and buying water tanks when the Jal Board doesn't help. The Indiaan Meteorological Department (IMD), and for the first time, we received a positive response."

India faced most a most brutal summer in the last 14 years in 2024, with 536 heat wave days country wide. In April, Delhi- like most of North India- felt the effects of extreme heat; such as cloudbursts leading to flooding and disaster. For informal workers, these climate events were serious impediments to normal livelihood.

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) conducted a state of informal labour study using climate impacts from years 2001-2020, and found climate events resulted in huge loss in labour hours and caused nearly 70% of economic losses in the informal sector. Informal workers are most impacted by climate change.

"Earlier, we had designated stands where we could rest under trees," Mohammad Shilaudin,  "Now, MCD has removed those and handed the space to parking contractors who charge us up to ₹100. We have no shelter, no charging points for electric rickshaws, and no drinking water.”
Shilaudin’s demands are basic: designated parking, rest shelters, water stations, and basic health coverage.

  "After working in Delhi for two decades, I still feel invisible. Despite the scorching heat, we start at 6 AM. Outside, there’s no shade; inside our homes, it’s hotter. We’re not even allowed to put up a tarpaulin without paying bribes of ₹10,000 to ₹20,000."

The business has dried up. "People go to air-conditioned restaurants. We sit in the sun and wait." If vendors work past 10 PM, they face harassment. "Police ask us to pack up. We earn for just 2 hours, but sit for 12." At Bhalswa landfill, waste pickers battle both fire and flood. They work amid burning plastic, toxic fumes, and collapsing garbage mounds. Women pickers arrive late—for safety, and get fewer recyclables. Medical waste, syringes, rotting food, and broken glass are daily hazards.

From Heat Alerts to Heat Justice:

Greenpeace India has been documenting these stories through reports and interventions. Selomi Garnaik, a Climate and Energy Expert at Greenpeace, said that while informal and outdoor workers like street vendors, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, and construction labourers contribute the least to climate change, they are its first and worst victims. Highlighting a critical information gap, she noted that most workers never receive timely alerts or guidance during heatwaves.

To address this, Greenpeace partnered with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to disseminate daily heat alerts via WhatsApp groups, visual signboards, and audio bulletins in Hindi and English, making forecasts accessible even to those with low literacy."We turned workers into ‘heat warriors’ by putting science in their hands. These alerts are now visible in markets and worker zones, empowering communities to respond proactively.

Garnaik stressed the need to rethink urban infrastructure, calling more green spaces, shaded walkways, clean toilets, and public cooling shelters. Climate resilience isn’t just about surviving weather—it's about dignity, access, and justice. Those who didn’t cause the crisis are suffering the most, and the state must act now to support them.”

Sidharth Shankar, co-founder of Wobbly Tale and designer of these heat alert boards, explains, “We collaborated with Greenpeace to design a simple, color-coded signboard system that communicates heat alerts in a way that's easy for outdoor workers—like street vendors and rickshaw pullers, to understand. Since many of them have limited literacy or time to go through detailed forecasts, we broke down temperatures into four color categories:

Green for below 35°C (safe) / Yellow for 35–40°C (moderate) / Orange for 40–45°C (high risk) and Red for above 45°C (severe heat).

He told, “Each color corresponds with health advisories, based on IMD and WHO guidance, such as drinking water every 20 minutes, resting in the shade for 10–15 minutes every hour, avoiding caffeine, and eating water-rich fruits like watermelon and cucumber. The boards also show warnings for heatwaves, humidity, or storms, and will be installed across Delhi. IMD is our knowledge partner, and we hope to scale this project nationally. The goal is to make climate data visual, accessible, and life-saving.”

According to Amruta S Nair, Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace India, "The NDMA’s advisory for heat protection is welcome, especially for recognising the gendered nature of impact. But implementation will need heat budgets and heatwaves to be notified as a national disaster. Only then will states act seriously."

The climate experts called for “Urban Justice,” pleading that the answer rests proper participatory planning thay may encompass the following:

* Register informal workers within welfare boards;

* Set up public toilets and water points within market zones;

* Provide vendors with permanent stalls, better if shaded;

* Set up rest areas with power and water for rickshaw pullers.

* Ensure access and readiness for healthcare and extreme weather;

* Ensure the enforcement of the Street Vendors Act and SLUM Rehabilitation policy.

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