No institution in India is mandated to ask whether preventable deaths, unsafe working conditions, loss of livelihoods, or the lack of access to water and cooling amount to violations of people’s constitutional and human rights.

By Vaishali and Deepali

“My mother is 65 years old and has asthma. She experiences severe breathing difficulties during summer, and the extreme heat causes her blood pressure to drop. Earlier this month, she fainted because of the heat. After examining her, the doctor advised her to stay indoors, avoid heat exposure, and rest until her condition improves,”  says Sunita, a resident of Sunder Nagri, Delhi.

For Sunita, these extreme changing weather patterns are no more a seasonal phenomenon but a consequence of climate change. To her, changing weather conditions means prolonged heatwaves, intense rain, and humid heat which jeopardize the rights to health, livelihood and right of citizens to live with dignity. 

There are many families like Sunita’s who face similar situations due to the impact of extreme heat. The impact is visible in many forms and places, like in classrooms, workplaces, kitchens, neighbourhoods, social life, livelihood, children’s education, mobility and everyday life. 

Human Caused Climate Change

Summers in Delhi are no longer just a seasonal weather condition. Attribution science has proved that human-caused climate change is driven by the extraction and burning of oil, gas, and other fossil fuels worldwide. Extreme heat has become a growing public emergency, depriving people of basic necessities and threatening their right to live in a healthy, safe, and dignified environment. Despite the violation of fundamental human rights, we continue to treat heatwaves as an environmental issue rather than a question of accountability and rights.  

Arshi, a 19 year old says “my exams are approaching but the extreme heat makes it difficult for me to study. It gets so hot that I cannot concentrate on my lessons. When my friend called  me for group studies, I refused and said it’s too hot today. I can’t study.”

Arshi’s story tells us that heat is not only making the situation worse but also limiting opportunities for people – people who are already vulnerable in the society; now, they are more vulnerable due to the impact of extreme heat.

Ragini, an informal-sector worker and a resident of Delhi’s Burari, says she has experienced skin irritation due to the heat and has seen its effects on her children. Her son has fallen ill, while her children are unable to go outside and participate in everyday activities.

Abhishek, a college going student, says, the heat follows him from the college to his home. His mother, an informal worker in Sunder Nagri, works in a factory where workers cannot use fans properly. At home, poor ventilation turns their house into a heat trap, making it difficult to sleep. Abhishek himself struggles to sleep and concentrate on his studies.

Violations of Human Rights

These are not isolated experiences. These experiences show how heat severely impacts people across different age, gender, class and caste. It also shows the condition people are living in, without any protection provided by the government. 

These are not just standalone environmental issues but violations of human rights. Such testimonies have been collected across Delhi using a Physical Registry, to document what are the challenges people are facing in their everyday life due to the extreme heat which links to their fundamental rights as well and how it is violated. 

We must look at the impact of extreme heat not merely as an environmental issue but violation of human rights provided in the Constitution of India. Every year, different departments release their mandates on heat regulations, heat advisory, safety measures and heat action plans. These measures are significant. But they remain largely bureaucratic, with little examination of whether they are actually implemented and successful in preventing those who are at risk. 

What remains missing is recognition of increasingly hot summers as a human rights violation. The inadequacy of India’s current response to heatwaves is reflected in how we count the human cost of extreme heat. A recent HeatWatch report documented at least 84 suspected heat-related deaths reported in the media between February and July 2025. Yet, according to data obtained by PTI through the Right to Information Act, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recorded 7,192 suspected heatstroke cases but only 14 confirmed heat-related deaths between March 1 and June 24, 2025. 

NHRC Must Intervene

Such stark discrepancies point to a deeper problem: heat-related illnesses and deaths remain significantly undercounted, making the crisis appear far smaller than it is. While weather agencies issue forecasts, disaster management authorities coordinate emergency response, and municipal bodies implement Heat Action Plans, none of these institutions is mandated to ask whether preventable deaths, unsafe working conditions, loss of livelihoods, or the lack of access to water and cooling amount to violations of people’s constitutional and human rights. This is precisely where the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) must intervene. 

The NHRC must investigate whether the frequent heat-related harms reflect system collapse of the State’s duty to protect the rights to life, health, dignity and livelihood; hold governments accountable for gaps in preparedness and implementation; issue recommendations that strengthen laws and policies to better protect people from extreme heat; validate that the needs of those most exposed including informal workers, women, children, older persons, homeless people and low-income communities are placed at the centre of decision-making; and mainstream a rights-based approach into Heat Action Plans. Such an approach would move beyond treating heat as merely a disaster to be managed and instead require governments to prevent avoidable harm, reduce inequalities in heat exposure, and ensure that every person is protected from the escalating impacts of extreme heat. 

Recognising extreme heat as a human rights issue shifts the questions we ask. Recognising heat as a national disaster as important is recognising the impact of it as human rights violation. Why vulnerable communities continue to bear the greatest burden, and who is responsible for preventable deaths and the sufferings that occur. In a warming world, protecting people requires more than weather forecasts and emergency measures. It requires recognising the right to survive, work, study and live with dignity. 

Vaishali is a Greenpeace campaigner working on heat and looking into the unequal impact of extreme heat on informal workers.
Deepali is a community campaigner attached to Greenpeace. She lives in Sundar Nagri, Delhi.