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Noida, India
The work of Yogendra Tundre and his wife Lata would be hard even in mild temperatures - but in Noida near New Delhi it is more than 40 degrees Celsius.
Yogendra Tundre, construction worker
'There are a lot of problems. Our work efficiency has decreased because of the high temperature. We used to be able to build 100 feet of masonry, now we can only do 70 feet. Our contractors often scold us for it. Also, our body is weak, so we need to rest for a day or two. Those are the problems. The heat is too great, but if we don't work, what should we eat? We work for a few days, and then we sit idle for a few days because of tiredness and heat
.”
People in India have been suffering from extreme heat for weeks, last March was the hottest in a hundred years.
Events like this are occurring more frequently than before because of the climate crisis, say researchers, including those from Imperial College in London.
For people like the tundres, the weather becomes a health hazard.
Lata Tundre
“Sometimes I don't go to work because of the heat. I take days off. I often get sick from dehydration and need an intravenous glucose solution.”
And the costs for the necessary doctor's visit would have more than doubled, reports Tundre.
New Delhi, India
In agriculture, too, many people in India are currently toiling under extreme conditions.
Kamlesh, resident
“The heat has been extreme for the past two or three days.
As soon as you put your foot on the ground, you can feel it radiating heat.«
Here, too, very few people can afford to stay at home for a day.
The weather is also having an impact on the global grain trade.
Since the wheat harvest will be worse than expected, India has imposed an export ban on bread grain.
The world market price for wheat then rose to a record high.
India had originally announced that it would be able to alleviate the global supply bottlenecks caused by the Ukraine war.
But now the supply of the own population has priority.
25 people have died from heat stroke in India so far.
Men between the ages of 30 and 45 are particularly affected.
There are no health and safety laws for people like the Tundre couple.
And even after work, there is no cooling off waiting for the construction workers.
Yogendra Tundre, construction worker
"It is really hot here. How can you live peacefully here? You can't rest here. There is only pain and misery here. We come from work around 5pm but it's so hot here, there's a tin roof that gets extremely hot, we come here and it's too hot so it's very hard. Here there are only problems and problems
.«
