Indian Economy Cannot Outrun Heat

. Rising temperatures are affecting productivity, disrupting livelihoods and straining the systems that keep the economy running.

India's informal sector employs nearly 90% of the country's workforce, including street vendors, waste pickers, construction workers, gig workers, security guards, rickshaw pullers, among others, who keep the economy functioning every day. For many of them, stepping away from work during a heatwave is not an option. Yet they remain among the most exposed to extreme temperatures, often without access to cooling, health care or social protection.

The cost of this exposure is already adding up. Between 2001 and 2020, India lost an estimated 259 billion labour hours annually to heat. The 2022 heatwave cut wheat yields by up to 20%, disrupted milk production, and triggered distress sales across agriculture. The International Labour Organization projects that by 2030, heat stress could wipe out the equivalent of 34 million full-time jobs in India.

Heat today is not just about rising temperatures. Rising humidity is making conditions more concerning, particularly across North India and the Indo-Gangetic Plains, where a recent CEEW study found humidity levels have risen by up to 10% over the past decade. Traditionally drier cities such as Delhi, Chandigarh, Kanpur, Jaipur and Varanasi are seeing rising humidity levels. As humidity increases, sweat evaporates less efficiently, making it harder for the body to cool itself. As the monsoon arrives, temperatures may ease but rising humidity creates new challenges for outdoor workers, increasing heat stress and health risks.

The question is no longer whether India will face extreme heat, but how it adapts to it. Adaptation will require a coordinated effort from government, businesses, communities and citizens alike.

But as heatwaves become more frequent, longer and more intense, policy alone cannot reach every worker, street corner or neighbourhood.

Indian cities were not designed for 45°C summers, yet they are increasingly expected to function in them. There are still too few places where people can pause, cool down or rehydrate. Access to drinking water, shaded rest areas and heat-safe work environments remains inconsistent, particularly for those whose jobs keep them outdoors for hours at a stretch.

Resilience can no longer be built only through government programs. It must become part of everyday life.

At its core, heat resilience is about something simple: access. Access to shade, hydration and healthcare. Or, as we like to frame it: Chhaav, chaas and check-up.

First, shade (chhaav). In extreme heat, the ability to stop, even briefly, becomes critical infrastructure. Distributed rest points across RWAs, restaurants, shops, and public spaces can transform cities into networks of recovery zones.

Second, hydration (chaas). Clean drinking water should not require a detour. It needs to be available where people are: at delivery clusters, traffic intersections, marketplaces and pickup/dropoff points. Small behavioural nudges, from app-based reminders to accessible low-cost cooling drinks like chaas, can significantly reduce heat stress.

Third, health (check-up). Heat stress is predictable which makes it preventable. Early symptom recognition, quick-response systems, and decentralized medical access from pop-up clinics to localized pharmacies serving as checkpoints can shift outcomes from emergency to early care.

Some of these ideas are taking shape. Across Zomato, more than 5,000 restaurant and partner-led rest points, alongside Blinkit's hyperlocal dark stores provide delivery partners with access to drinking water, seating, washrooms, charging facilities and shaded recovery spaces. It was important to place these rest points along the touchpoints that delivery partners mostly encounter in their journey of picking and delivering an order. These may seem like small interventions but in a hotter world they are becoming essential pieces of urban infrastructure.

Technology and design can strengthen these efforts. Smarter routing, shaded pick-up zones for delivery fleets and cabs can lower everyday heat exposure. Additionally, innovations such as UV-protective fabrics and lightweight cooling wearables are beginning to make outdoor work more comfortable.

However, infrastructure alone will not address the challenge. Behaviour must evolve alongside it.

Too often, we treat heat as a personal problem rather than a collective one. As a result, individuals push through exhaustion, skip breaks and accept discomfort because stopping work is rarely an option. But adapting to a hotter world cannot be left to individuals alone. Businesses, communities and public institutions all have a role to play.

In a hotter India, resilience will not be measured by how much heat people can endure, but by how easily they can find shade, water and care when they need it.

India's economy cannot outrun heat. But together, we can help it cope.

This article is authored by Anajalli Ravi Kumar, chief sustainability officer, Eternal.