India’s summers of 2024 and 2025 have delivered some of the most intense heatwaves in recent memory, with the heat index crossing 50 degrees Celsius across several northern and central cities, according to the India Meteorological Department. While the impact on agriculture, power systems, and urban life is widely reported, the heaviest burden has fallen on those who labour outdoors. Delivery riders, cab drivers, sanitation workers, and app-based service providers have quietly become the human shield absorbing India’s climate stress.
Workers Fainting in Heat Highlights Crack in Gig Economy
The strain on gig workers is now visible across the country. In Hyderabad, multiple incidents were documented in June 2024 where delivery riders fainted outside restaurants or inside parked cabs without shade. In Delhi, a national daily reported workers lining up at major delivery warehouses with sweat-soaked clothing, wrapping wet cloth around their heads while waiting in 45 degrees Celsius heat. Many workers described the same reality: taking time off is impossible if their daily income depends entirely on staying logged in. For them, choosing between health and wages is not an option.
Government Advisory Falls Short on Ground
The National Disaster Management Authority acknowledged the growing crisis in July 2025 by issuing a special advisory for informal and platform-based workers. It urged employers and local bodies to halt outdoor work from noon to 4 p.m., provide shaded waiting zones, ensure access to drinking water, and establish first-aid facilities. Gig workers were formally recognised as a high-risk group in periods of extreme heat.
Despite this, many riders say the protections remain theoretical. Several workers report being pushed to stay active during peak temperatures to meet platform targets. Ground-level enforcement is weak, and compliance varies widely across cities.
Retaliation Against Workers Raising Concerns
Some workers who demanded safe working conditions faced immediate repercussions. In Varanasi, nearly 150 delivery and ride-hailing workers went on strike seeking shade and hydration breaks. Rights groups later reported that several participants found their accounts blocked by platforms, effectively cutting off their earnings. This digital form of punishment highlights the lack of formal protection for workers who exist outside conventional labour laws.
Climate Exposure Deepens Labour Precarity
Research published in January 2025 shows that many gig workers in Hyderabad routinely spend six to eight hours outdoors in 45 to 50 degrees Celsius temperatures, often with no access to rest areas, toilets, or healthcare. Unlike factory labour, there are no mandated cooling breaks. Unlike office workers, there is no air-conditioned relief. Unlike farmers, there is no institutional compensation mechanism. The widening gap between informal employment and workplace safety is becoming increasingly stark.
Economic Stakes Rising With Every Heatwave
India’s gig workforce stood at 7.7 million in 2022 and is estimated to grow to 23.5 million by 2030, according to NITI Aayog. If heatwaves continue to incapacitate these workers, cities may face delivery disruptions, driver shortages, and escalating healthcare burdens. The International Labour Organization warns that India could lose the equivalent of 34 million full-time jobs by 2030 due to heat-stress-related productivity declines. The World Bank estimates that heat stress could endanger up to 4.5 per cent of India’s GDP, amounting to $150 to $250 billion, with more than three-fourths of the workforce facing heat-related risks.
A Call for National Heat-Safety Standards
While the NDMA advisory is a beginning, experts say India urgently needs a enforceable heat-safety code for gig and informal workers. This should include mandatory rest breaks from noon to 4 p.m., access to water and shade at delivery hotspots, and first-aid facilities at transport and logistics hubs. Insurance that covers heatstroke and related emergencies must be made compulsory, with contributions from both platforms and government. Crucially, workers should have the right to raise safety concerns without fear of account deactivation or reduced access to assignments.
The Human Cost of a Warming Economy
Extreme heat is no longer a seasonal event but a defining element of India’s economic and labour landscape. Every parcel delivered and every ride completed in temperatures touching 48 degrees Celsius represents a silent cost borne by workers who stand on the frontlines of climate change.
India often highlights its gig economy as a symbol of digital innovation and entrepreneurial promise. Yet the question remains: what is the worth of such progress if it is balanced on the exhausted shoulders of workers collapsing on pavements? As the country warms, the choice ahead is urgent—strengthen protections or risk turning an entire class of workers into casualties of climate change.