The Unseen Frontline: Heat Stress, Climate Change and the Sanitation Worker

The Main Explanatory

As India grapples with increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves, a critical but often overlooked group is on the frontline of this climate crisis: the nation's sanitation workers. Their situation highlights a complex intersection of urban governance, labour rights, public health, and climate adaptation.

What is the 'double burden' of climate risk for sanitation workers?

Sanitation workers face a dual vulnerability to climate change. The first is occupational: their work, involving street sweeping, waste collection, and drain cleaning, requires long hours of strenuous physical labour outdoors, directly exposing them to extreme temperatures. As public health expert Aruna Bhattacharya noted in The Hindu on July 1, 2026, for these workers, extreme heat is no longer an occasional hazard but a “routine reality.” This constant exposure leads to significant health risks.

The second burden is residential. A significant proportion of sanitation workers live in informal settlements characterised by overcrowded housing with poor ventilation and heat-absorbent tin roofs. These areas, often lacking green cover and reliable water supply, become urban heat islands, meaning workers find little respite from heat even after their workday ends. This 'double burden' of exposure at work and at home, as documented in a 2025 field study in Delhi by the Centre for Science and Environment, compounds health risks and underscores how climate impacts are filtered through socio-economic conditions.

How does heat stress specifically impact their health and livelihood?

Medically, chronic exposure to extreme heat leads to heat stress. Immediate effects include severe dehydration, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion, which can escalate to a fatal heatstroke. A 2024 World Health Organization report highlights the severe long-term consequences, linking chronic dehydration and heat stress to a higher incidence of kidney disease and cardiovascular complications. For a workforce already facing health challenges from exposure to waste and pollutants, this adds another dangerous layer of risk.