Sundar Nagri Residents Demand NHRC Declare Extreme Heat a Human Rights Issue

On a recent Tuesday, vulnerable residents of Sundar Nagri in New Delhi, alongside environmental group Greenpeace India, submitted "heat registries" to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to demand that extreme heat be declared a human rights issue.

The registries, compiled by 40 local households since a severe heat spell in May, document the severe health, economic, and educational toll that rising temperatures have taken on low-income families. The participants include street vendors, waste pickers, domestic helps, women, and students living in the area.

Among those documenting their struggles was Nagma, who rents a one-room fourth-floor apartment in Sundar Nagri with her family of eight. Nagma reported that the room traps heat throughout the day, leaving it stifling at night. During the May heatwave, she suffered from headaches and low blood pressure, which prevented her from doing her toy packaging work, leading to lost wages. Her children also missed school classes due to sleep deprivation.

Another resident, Abhishek, documented how his rented room lacked ventilation, making the house feel like a "closed jar." He noted that his mother faced severe heat stress while working long hours under a single ceiling fan at a thread factory for a monthly salary of Rs 6,000.

The residents and Greenpeace India are urging the NHRC to push for the implementation of the Sixteenth Finance Commission’s recommendation to notify heatwaves as a nationally recognized disaster. This would allow for the formal funding of local "heat action plans."

Mohit Valecha, national coordinator of the Indian Hawkers Alliance, highlighted that extreme heat leads to reduced footfall, directly impacting the livelihoods of street vendors who have no social security safety net. Valecha recorded spending Rs 1,455 in May and Rs 3,420 in June on electricity expenses to cope with the heat.

Greenpeace India has also called for linking India Meteorological Department heatwave warnings to mandatory wage-loss compensation for outdoor and gig workers. Additionally, they demanded that public parks be converted into heat-resilient community spaces with shade and water, alongside increased hydration and health interventions in vulnerable neighbourhoods.