Rising Heat: The Heavy Toll on Indian Women

Rising heat: The heavy toll on Indian women

 

Between May-June 2024, India endured one of the worst heat waves in its history. People sought refuge under the scant shade of trees, children’s feet blistered on the sun-baked ground, and families huddled in their homes, powerless against the unrelenting heat. Temperatures in Northern-India soared above 50 degrees with Mungeshpur, a village in Delhi, reaching a staggering 52ºC. With 90% of India living in extreme heat zones (1), the human toll has been devastating — more than 100 people have died, and over 40,000 people have suffered heat strokes (2).

 

But the worst hit have been poor women living in rural and urban spaces. With the heatwave exacerbating water shortages in rural areas, women — who are responsible for travelling long distances to fetch water — are now facing even greater challenges. If you are a woman living in rural India during the dry season, you are likely spending up to five hours a day merely harvesting water (3). And to harvest water, you travel anywhere between 6-20 kilometres with an earthen pot precariously balanced on your head (4). If you are a woman living through India’s heatwave, the added strain of cooking in the heat and caring for vulnerable family members means you spend 90 more minutes on care work than you would otherwise (5). If you are a pregnant woman in India, your suffering is compounded. Rising temperatures and high levels of air pollution can disrupt hormonal balances, increasing the risk of stillbirths and miscarriages (6).

 

Simply put, if you are a woman living in India during the heatwave, you suffer. The interaction between gender dynamics, societal norms, and climate change exacerbates women’s vulnerability to a world getting hotter by the day.

 

​

Rising heat, rising risks

 

This year, in India, more than one-fourth of the land was plagued by drought conditions (7). In rural India, most families rely on tube wells and hand pumps to draw water. Because of the drought, water in these sources is drying up at an alarming rate, leaving families without access to safe drinking water. As of 2019, only 17% of rural households had tap water connections (8).

 

But how does water availability, or the lack thereof, disproportionately impact women? The burden of having to procure water for their families generally falls to women. In drought-like conditions, these women walk up to ten miles a day, carrying over fifteen litres of water, exposing them to the risk of injuries and chronic pain from the intense manual labour involved. But beyond the visible health impacts, fetching water is also just a colossal waste of time. Across rural India, women collectively spend 150 million workdays simply searching for water (9) — workdays that can be spent instead on more productive activities like developing skills, getting educated, or just resting. 

 

Collecting water is not just an irksome journey, it is a dangerous one too. With droughts making clean water scarcer and women being the first to access water sources, they are often the primary victims of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea and typhoid (10). The impact of limited water access is particularly severe for Dalit (untouchables or outcastes) women, who are frequently barred from using communal water sources in villages because of concerns that they will 'pollute' the water. When they attempt to access these resources, they are met with violence, and "water riots" — where upper caste communities prevent lower castes from using wells and hand pumps — have become increasingly common (11). For Dalit women in India, caste intersects with class disparities to exacerbate their vulnerability to climate shocks.

 

In urban areas, the challenges brought on by a worsening climate look a little different.

54% of women in India remain indoors, compared to only 14% of men (12). But inadequate cooling mechanisms render women vulnerable to heat stress even within their own homes. Houses are made of ‘patra’ – low quality steel sheets whose quality is neither standardised nor controlled. Low-income households often turn to patra, asbestos, and tin because they are cheap. Although affordable, these materials become highly dangerous in rising temperatures due to their excellent heat conductivity. India’s poor women don’t live in leafy neighbourhoods; they are trapped in poorly insulated homes that slowly suffocate them.

 

The internal heat is only intensified by the fuels that poor women use for cooking. In India, more than 60 % of households rely on solid fuels such as coal and dung for domestic activities (13). The smoke from burning these fuels gets trapped inside homes, intensifies the heat, and contributes to high levels of indoor air pollution.

But the burden is far from equally shared between men and women. A woman in India spends over seven hours doing unpaid work in the kitchen, while her husband spends less than half that time (14). It is no surprise then, that women disproportionately suffer health issues associated with indoor pollution. Women exposed to fumes from burning cooking fuels are susceptible to diseases such as tuberculosis, bronchial asthma, and pulmonary diseases (15). 

 

But women are not just suffering debilitating illnesses due to the intense heat; they also experience a significant loss of productivity. In India, over two-thirds of women's productivity loss from heat strain occurs in the realm of unpaid labour (16). It is a vicious cycle: the fuels women use expose them to illnesses and decrease their productivity, leading them to spend more time in the kitchen and further heightening their risk of suffering adverse health effects.

 

Beyond these tangible effects, there are also insidious interactions between social norms and lifestyle choices that multiply the threat of climate change for women. Consider the attire typically worn by women in India — the ‘sari’. The sari is a stretch of fabric that is draped over the body like a robe and pleated at the waist. The sari is undeniably beautiful, but it is far from practical. For one, a sari cannot be worn on its own; it must be paired with a blouse, and every extra layer traps more heat. Additionally, a sari takes longer to dry than ordinary garments, leaving women in rain-prone regions vulnerable to colds and other illnesses. It is not just what women wear that is’s prescribed, but also how they wear it. In rural areas, especially North India, more than 80% (17) of Hindu women use their saris to cover their heads and fashion a makeshift ghoonghat – — a headscarf worn by married women. It's difficult enough to imagine how a head covering traps heat for women stepping into 50°C weather. But what's even more alarming is that many of these women wear the ghoonghat even within their own homes. These homes, already suffocating from the relentless heat and thick with cooking fumes, become virtual furnaces. Forget about cooking or doing their daily chores — it’s hard to imagine how these women breathe.

 

​

A relief from the heat: More inclusive solutions

 

This is an urgent problem, and it demands immediate solutions. Every minute we waste, life becomes increasingly unbearable for these women, who bear the brunt of our inaction. 

 

Addressing these disproportionate effects requires more than just acknowledging the challenges; it calls for inclusive solutions that actively involve women in shaping the response to climate change.  Pertinently, the data shows that making women a part of the process works. According to a 2019 study, when women are represented in national parliaments, climate policies are more likely to be stringent and emissions are likely to be lower (18). The evidence also shows that when more women are elected to office, policies tend to prioritize quality of life and children's well-being (19). Unfortunately, India still has a long way to go. The representation of women in India's parliament is a dismal 15%, falling short of the global average of 25% and trailing behind 140 other countries (20). We can’t just hope that policies designed to address the effects of climate change will have positive spill over effects for women, we need to place the well-being of women at the centre of our responses and actively involve them in the solution process. 

 

From a policy perspective, we need to mainstream gender considerations into climate solutions. Governments must design and implement policies that target specific barriers. In 2016, the Government of India introduced the PM-Ujjwala Yojana with the objective of distributing fifty million LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) cylinders to BPL (Below Poverty Line) families at a subsidised rate. By subsidising LPG, the government aimed to encourage rural women to abandon unclean cooking fuels. Although the scheme has distributed 80 million LPG connections to rural families (21), recent surveys show that approximately 60% of rural families continue to rely on unclean cooking fuels (22). Though the scheme appears successful, ground reality is quite different. What went wrong here?

 

It turns out that many rural families find it expensive to keep getting the LPG cylinder refilled, so they either go back to using traditional cooking fuels or, in a process known as fuel stacking, use multiple fuel sources at the same time (23). The government could have known this only if it had closely overseen the scheme’s implementation. Policymaking is an iterative process, and policies must constantly be refined to remain effective. India’s challenge is not policy formulation. In fact, there were 740 centrally run schemes in 2022 (24). The problem is weak follow-up and poor oversight. To resolve this, the government must establish robust feedback mechanisms to allow for adaptation. Particularly for social initiatives, it should adopt a people-centred approach, collaborate with local communities to identify context-specific barriers to implementation, and adapt policies accordingly. In the case of the PMUY scheme, to deliver its objectives, the government must provide subsidies to beneficiaries for refills and conduct regular audits to monitor its progress.

 

We also need sociological interventions. NGOs can play a role in changing the perception that only women must cook and deliver care. They have the flexibility to tailor their messages in culturally sensitive ways, allowing for a deeper impact than blanket government policies. We also need to design urban neighbourhoods more thoughtfully. Establishing creches in poor neighbourhoods frees women from caregiving duties and opens avenues for them to seek employment outside their homes. In India, mobile creches enable women in informal sectors to work with peace of mind by caring for their children and providing literacy education to them. Finally, we need to ensure that women pursue opportunities in safe environments that protect them from extreme heat. Employers should be encouraged to create supportive work environments by providing regular breaks, shaded areas, and protective gear such as caps. Not only does this protect the well-being of workers, but it also benefits employers by boosting productivity, reducing absenteeism, and increasing engagement.  

 

Empowering poor women also means giving them the resources to organise. Self-help groups (SHGs) encourage collective action and foster a sense of solidarity amongst women. In Ahmedabad, a city in the Western state of Gujarat, SHGs are allowing women to take climate action into their own hands. Although these women experience the effects of climate change first-hand, they still lack a voice in municipal decisions that impact their lives. But the Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT), a grassroots organization, is steadily shifting this paradigm. MHT equips women with the knowledge to understand climate change, spread awareness in their villages, and take tangible steps to address it, such as advocating for stronger water sanitation systems, installing water purifiers in their homes, and implementing 'cool roofing' to protect against heat (25). 

 

Change doesn't always have to come through dramatic upheavals of the system; it happens by allowing marginalised groups to participate, giving them a voice in small yet meaningful ways, so they can gradually push back against bigger barriers. Challenging deeply ingrained beliefs, such as the idea that women must serve as caregivers or bear the sole responsibility for domestic work, is crucial to tackling the gendered impact of climate change in India. Bottom-up movements are more effective in driving this kind of change because they involve communities in the process, empower them to participate in decision-making, and leverage their knowledge to engineer effective solutions. Although climate change is a global issue, it demands local solutions that address the specific needs of different regions, communities, classes, and castes.

 

The world is getting hotter, and women are feeling the heat more intensely. The need of the hour is for focused measures that are gender-sensitive, treating women not as an afterthought, but as central to the solution.

​

​​

​

​

​

​

References:

 

1. Casciato, P. (2023). Killer heatwaves endanger India’s development. [online] University of Cambridge. Available at: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/india-heatwaves.

2. Patel, S. and Agarwala, T. (2024). India reports over 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases over summer. [online] Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/unrelenting-heatwave-kills-five-indian-capital-2024-06-19/.

3. Barton, A. (n.d.). Water In Crisis - Spotlight Women in India. [online] The Water Project. Available at: https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-india-women#:~:text=For%20their%20reliance%20on%20water.

4. Vaid, D. (2020). Women farmers bear the burden of India’s water crisis | IDR. [online] India Development Review. Available at: https://idronline.org/women-bear-the-burden-of-indias-water-crisis/.

5. Choudhary, P.K. and Rapheal, S. (2024). The toll that extreme heat takes on women. [online] The Hindu. Available at: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/the-toll-that-extreme-heat-takes-on-women/article68406357.ece.

6. Shanmugam Rekha, Sirala Jagadeesh Nalini, Srinivasan Bhuvana, Sellappa Kanmani, Jane Elizabeth Hirst and Venugopal, V. (2023). Heat stress and adverse pregnancy outcome: Prospective cohort study. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 131(5). doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17680.

7. Salas, E.B. (2024). Drought affected area in India by severity 2024. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1454736/drought-affected-area-india/.

8. PIB Delhi (2024). Over 14.24 Crore (73.93%) Rural Households Now Have Tap Water Supply In Their Homes. [online] Pib.gov.in. Available at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2003912#:~:text=At%20the%20time%20of%20announcement [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

9. Bhuyan, R. (2016). Five charts that show how women suffer the most from water stress. [online] Livemint. Available at: https://www.livemint.com/Politics/5k07wKxfIQE6vMaDmi1ewM/Five-charts-that-show-how-women-suffer-the-most-from-water-s.html.

10. WHO (2023). Women and girls bear brunt of water and sanitation crisis – new UNICEF-WHO report. [online] www.who.int. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2023-women-and-girls-bear-brunt-of-water-and-sanitation-crisis---new-unicef-who-report.

11. Kamal, S. (2023). Caste, Climate change and enlarging multidimensional poverty in India – Round Table India. [online] Round Table India. Available at: https://www.roundtableindia.co.in/caste-climate-change-and-enlarging-multidimensional-poverty-in-india/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

12. Biswas, S. (2023). Why half of India’s urban women stay at home. BBC News. [online] 2 Mar. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64810339.

13. Faizan, M.A. and Thakur, R. (2019a). Association Between Solid Cooking Fuels and Respiratory Disease Across Socio-Demographic Groups in India. Journal of Health and Pollution, 9(23), p.190911. doi:https://doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-9.23.190911.

14. Feb 12, Ptil.U. (2023). Women spend 7.2 hours on unpaid domestic work compared to 2.8 hours spent by men: IIMA prof’s research. The Economic Times. [online] 12 Feb. Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/women-spend-7-2-hours-on-unpaid-domestic-work-compared-to-2-8-hours-spent-by-men-iima-profs-research/articleshow/97837422.cms?from=mdr.

15. Faizan, M.A. and Thakur, R. (2019b). Association Between Solid Cooking Fuels and Respiratory Disease Across Socio-Demographic Groups in India. Journal of Health and Pollution, 9(23), p.190911. doi:https://doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-9.23.190911.

16. Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (2023). The scorching divide: How extreme heat inflames gender inequalities in health and income. [online] Arsht-Rock. Available at: https://onebillionresilient.org/extreme-heat-inflames-gender-inequalities/#:~:text=As%20the%20heat%20continues%20to.

17. Salazar, A.M. and Sahgal, N. (2022). In India, head coverings are worn by most women, including roughly six-in-ten Hindus. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/02/17/in-india-head-coverings-are-worn-by-most-women-including-roughly-six-in-ten-hindus/.

18. Poonam Muttreja (2023). The disproportionate impact of climate change on women: A closer look ahead of COP28. [online] Down To Earth. Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/the-disproportionate-impact-of-climate-change-on-women-a-closer-look-ahead-of-cop28-92523#:~:text=Women%20as%20Agents%20of%20Change&text=A%202019%20study%20revealed%20that [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

19. Hessami , Z. and Baskaran, T. (2020). Women as policymakers do make a difference. [online] CEPR. Available at: https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/women-policymakers-do-make-difference.

20. HT News Desk (2024). India lags behind 150 countries in representation of women in Lok Sabha. [online] Hindustan Times. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-lags-behind-150-countries-in-representation-of-women-in-lok-sabha-101717659617194.html [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

21. Government of India (2016). About PM Ujjwala Yojana. [online] Pmuy.gov.in. Available at: https://pmuy.gov.in/about.html.

22. Varghese, N. (2023). Clean(er) cooking in India: We need a transition to better solutions along with smarter policies. [online] Down To Earth. Available at: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/pollution/clean-er-cooking-in-india-we-need-a-transition-to-better-solutions-along-with-smarter-policies-89150 [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

23. Warrier, R., Jha, S. and Patnaik, S. (2021). Are India’s Urban Poor Using Clean Cooking Fuels? [online] COUNCIL ON ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND WATER. Available at: https://www.ceew.in/publications/are-indias-urban-poor-using-clean-cooking-fuels.

24. Government of India (n.d.). Central Sector Schemes. [online] Available at: https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/stat4b.pdf [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].

25. Mahila Housing Trust (2021). Women’s Action Towards Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor. [online] Prizeforcities.org. Available at: https://prizeforcities.org/project/womens-action-towards-climate-resilience [Accessed 9 Sep. 2024].