‘I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe’ – These are the chilling words that capture the harsh reality of climate breakdown. Imagine the suffocating heat, the relentless work, and the constant struggle for survival. This isn't a dystopian future; it's the present, happening right now in Manesar, India, during the devastating heatwave of 2024.
Neha, a resilient 25-year-old woman, works in a warehouse for a multinational company. Her goal? To send money back home to her family. But the brutal Indian heatwave has transformed her life into a daily battle against the elements. Climate change, fueled by the warming of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, is intensifying these heatwaves, making them more frequent and severe.
Every morning, Neha's day begins before sunrise. She wakes up at 5:30 AM or 6:00 AM to cook, prepare, and head to her shift, which starts at 8:30 AM. But during the summer months – May, June, July, and August – the temperature consistently hovers around 46°C (115°F), sometimes even reaching a scorching 50°C (122°F). This extreme heat has completely altered her routine.
She lives in a rented room on the top floor of a two-story building with a friend. Power cuts are frequent in her rural neighborhood, often occurring at 3:00 AM. Sleep becomes a luxury, and even waking up at 6:00 AM to bathe before the rooftop water tank heats up is a struggle. Cooking is unbearable, so cold drinks replace tea.
Her 3-kilometer walk to work is a trial. Public transport is difficult to find, so she walks. The streets are deserted, the shops closed, and there is no shade. The sun beats down mercilessly, and she arrives at the warehouse drenched in sweat.
Inside the warehouse, there's some respite, with a temperature difference of almost 10°C (18°F). She drinks cold water, a luxury she doesn't have at home. Her job in the “inbound” department involves storing items according to a list, with a target of 150 items per hour in 600 small cabins across 400 narrow corridors spanning four floors. She walks up and down stairs, carrying goods, covering a minimum of 25 kilometers (16 miles) during her 10-hour shift. The storage area lacks fans, and even the air conditioning struggles to cope.
After work, she fills a two-liter bottle with cold water before walking back to her room, which feels like an inferno. The floor is burning, and without a fridge, they try to cool it with water from the tank. This unbearable situation lasted for months.
Moving between hot and cold environments affected her health. She lost her voice, caught a cold, and struggled to meet her work targets. Her manager reprimanded her. One evening, feverish and unwell, she couldn't speak or breathe. Her roommate took care of her because she couldn't risk alarming her family.
Here's where it gets controversial: Even if they fainted at work, they couldn't take a day off without a pay cut, and three days off meant being fired. The heat made many workers sick, some even returning to their villages. They were worried about their health, and who would take care of them.
Health issues became a significant concern. They skipped meals, drank aerated drinks, and felt weak. Neha's roommate's weight dropped from 45 kg (99 lbs) to 38 kg (84 lbs). The intense heat forced them to buy a cooler, increasing their electricity bill. These additional expenses and wage cuts impacted their earnings throughout the summer.
Neha believes these summers will repeat. She advocates for better conditions for workers, especially migrants. She believes that workplaces should be more flexible, with better ventilation and consideration for weather conditions. Workers need conditions that keep them fit. The work should be proportional to what they can handle, without extra pressure. She emphasizes the importance of workers supporting each other since they often lack support from the neighborhood.
And this is the part most people miss: This story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. It's a call to action for better working conditions, especially for migrant laborers, and a reminder of the urgent need to address climate change.
What are your thoughts? Do you think employers should be more accommodating during extreme weather events? How can we better support migrant workers who are often the most vulnerable to climate impacts? Share your opinions in the comments below!
