Ramesh Kumar arrives at his construction site in east Delhi before sunrise, when the thermometer still reads a manageable 28 degrees Celsius. By 10 a.m., he is working in temperatures that exceed 44 degrees, with no shade and only a thin cotton cloth for protection. "If I don't work, my family doesn't eat," he said. "But this heat is killing us slowly."
The scene plays out across India's capital every April, when temperatures routinely climb above 40 degrees and surface heat on construction sites can reach 50 degrees or higher. For the estimated 3.5 million construction workers in Delhi, the choice between earning their daily wage and protecting their health has become a seasonal nightmare — one that advocacy groups say is growing more acute with each passing year.
The Economics of Heat
For daily wage earners, the mathematics are brutal. A construction worker in Delhi earns between 600 and 900 rupees per day — roughly $7 to $11 — depending on skill level and contractor. Missing a single day can mean skipping a meal, failing to pay rent, or pulling children from school. The economic pressure to work, even in dangerous conditions, often overrides any concern for long-term health consequences.
"These workers face a impossible situation," said Anjali Sharma, programme director at the Centre for Urban and Rural Equality, a non-profit that studies labour conditions in Indian cities. "Their employers rarely provide adequate water, rest breaks, or shade. The system is designed to extract maximum labour at minimum cost."
The gap between what workers earn and what they need to survive has widened in recent years. Food inflation in Delhi ran at 7.2 percent in March, according to data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Rent in informal settlements has increased by roughly 20 percent since 2022. Workers report that their wages have not kept pace with rising costs, leaving them with fewer options when extreme weather strikes.
What Extreme Heat Does to the Human Body
Medical professionals in Delhi describe a predictable pattern each summer. Heat exhaustion cases begin rising in April, followed by heat stroke admissions in May and June. Construction workers, agricultural labourers, and street vendors are among the most vulnerable groups. The human body can only tolerate core temperatures above 40 degrees for a limited time before organ damage begins.
"We see workers coming in with confusion, seizures, and organ failure," said Dr. Priya Mehta, who works in the emergency department at Lok Nayak Hospital in central Delhi. "Many delay coming to hospital because they cannot afford to lose a day's wages. By the time they arrive, the damage is often irreversible."
Official mortality data from the Delhi Heat Action Plan, last updated in 2023, recorded 119 heat-related deaths in the city during the previous summer season. However, health experts believe the true figure is significantly higher because many heat-related deaths among migrant workers go unrecorded, particularly those occurring outside hospital settings.
The Policy Gap
Despite Delhi's extreme summer conditions, the city lacks comprehensive legislation protecting outdoor workers from heat exposure. Unlike Kerala, which introduced mandatory rest periods during heat waves in 2016, Delhi has relied on voluntary guidelines that advocacy groups say are widely ignored.
The Delhi Labour Department confirmed it has conducted 847 inspections of construction sites during the current summer season. Of those, 312 resulted in notices for safety violations. However, penalties are modest — fines typically range from 5,000 to 25,000 rupees — and inspections are announced in advance, allowing employers to prepare rather than to change practices.
"The enforcement mechanism is essentially broken," said Rajesh Kumar, a labour rights lawyer who has represented construction workers in Delhi for fifteen years. "Companies treat fines as a cost of doing business. Until there are meaningful consequences, nothing will change."
Living in the Heat
The residential patterns of Delhi's working poor compound the problem. Migrant workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh typically live in labour camps near construction sites — makeshift accommodations with metal roofs that absorb and radiate heat long after sunset. Temperatures inside these structures can remain above 35 degrees through much of the night, preventing the body from recovering from daytime heat stress.
In the Shakur Basti settlement in north Delhi, workers described a daily routine that offers no respite. They wake at 4 a.m., travel to work sites, labour through the hottest hours, and return to stifling accommodation in the evening. Air conditioning is a luxury none can afford; even fans strain against the heat trapped inside corrugated metal shelters.
"We know it's bad for us," said Sunita Devi, who works as a helper on a road construction project near Connaught Place. "But what can we do? If we complain, they find someone else. There are always people waiting for work."
The Gender Dimension
Women workers face additional burdens. Many are expected to handle household responsibilities after a full day's labour, cooking meals and caring for children despite exhaustion. During pregnancy, heat exposure increases risks of premature birth and complications, yet few construction companies offer pregnant workers any accommodation or lighter duties.
"The system treats these workers as disposable," said Dr. Sunita Singh, a public health researcher at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences who studies occupational health in urban informal sectors. "There is a complete disconnect between the knowledge we have about heat dangers and the actions taken to protect vulnerable people."
What Comes Next
Advocacy groups are pushing for a comprehensive heat protection law that would mandate shade structures, regular hydration breaks, and emergency medical care at all outdoor work sites. The proposal has been submitted to the Delhi Legislative Assembly but has not yet received a date for debate.
Meanwhile, climate scientists project that extreme heat events in northern India will become more frequent and intense over the coming decades. Research published in Nature Climate Change in 2023 found that the Indo-Gangetic Plain — home to more than 400 million people — will experience increasingly dangerous wet-bulb temperatures that make outdoor labour physically impossible for extended periods.
For workers like Ramesh Kumar, the theoretical debate offers cold comfort. He returned to his construction site on Monday, as temperatures climbed toward 45 degrees, because his daughter needed school fees and his landlord was demanding rent. "Maybe one day they will make the rules better," he said. "But today I still need to work."
The Delhi Labour Department has stated it will publish its summer inspection report by the end of June. Labour rights organisations are urging workers to register complaints through a new mobile application launched in March, though advocates acknowledge that many workers fear retaliation from employers who control their access to future employment.
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