Heatwaves in India don’t land evenly, they follow the fault lines of class. I have spent the majority of the last couple of months complaining about how hot it has been but the reality is that for some, the season is an inconvenience managed with air-conditioners, flexible work hours, and the ability to stay indoors. For others, especially daily-wage workers, street vendors, construction labourers, our quick commerce delivery executives, and those living in tin-roofed or densely packed housing, the heat is inescapable and dangerous. In cities, the urban heat island effect makes informal settlements significantly hotter than greener, better-planned neighbourhoods, while access to reliable electricity and water becomes a daily uncertainty. The difference is in the risk. Heatstroke, dehydration, lost income, and long-term health impacts are far more likely for those without the resources to shield themselves. In a country where class divides are already stark, climate events and other crises like the recent LPG gas crisis, expose and intensify the inequality, turning the same summer into entirely different realities depending on where, and how, you live.
