How does heatwaves impact the health of labourers | Burnt to Build

Shagun and Joel Michael of Down To Earth (DTE) visited brick kilns, construction sites, factories, small-scale units, and homes that employ thousands of informal workers in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Gujarat to learn how a rapidly warming planet has made work extremely difficult, testing people's tolerance limits.

Read the article here.

Around 82 per cent of India’s workforce is engaged in the informal sector and nearly 90 per cent is informally employed. 

This new DTE series will focus on how heat affects workers and workplaces that lack climate control mechanisms such as cooling or air conditioning, or where these systems are not feasible due to the nature of the work. The reports will also look at how heat affects the health of the most vulnerable populations, as well as potential prevention measures that industries can implement.

In the first installment of the series, DTE profiles outdoor workers who build our cities but are directly exposed to the scorching heat.