‘When I get home, my whole body aches’: extreme heat saps health and wages of India’s poorest workers
New research indicates that extreme heat is significantly reducing the income of India's informal outdoor workers, acting as a 'poverty multiplier.' Workers in sectors like construction and agriculture are losing up to 9% of their annual wages due to heat-related inability to work.
Why it matters
Climate change is disproportionately affecting the economic stability of the world's most vulnerable populations, highlighting the need for climate-resilient labor policies.
Workers in highly physical jobs in some sectors lost on average 6.6% of their salaries in 2024 due to extreme heat, analysis found. Photograph: Saqib Majeed/Sopa Images/Shutterstock Workers in highly physical jobs in some sectors lost on average 6.6% of their salaries in 2024 due to extreme heat, analysis found. Photograph: Saqib Majeed/Sopa Images/Shutterstock Extreme heat ‘When I get home, my whole body aches’: extreme heat saps health and wages of India’s poorest workers Exclusive: Outdoor workers losing up to 9% of income as weather becomes ‘poverty multiplier’, research says
Prefer the Guardian on Google Extreme heat is pushing some of India’s poorest workers further into poverty, with income losses of up to 9% for outdoor workers, new research has found.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in