The Fear Beyond "Extreme Heat" - The Unending Heat as Violence Affecting Women in India

1. The True Culprit More Troublesome than "Heatwaves"

In 2025, India was once again hit by what was described as "one of the worst heatwaves on record." However, the issue extends beyond the few days of **heatwaves** reported in the news.

Quieter, longer-lasting, and gradually wearing people down—this is what the NYTimes headline referred to as “Heat Stress”.

Recent studies indicate that 57% of India's administrative districts are exposed to generally high to very high heatwave risks, with about three-quarters of the population living within these areas. Particularly, the rise in nighttime temperatures with high humidity has normalized "life-threatening heat" conditions where the body cannot release heat.Reuters

Still, the number of heat-related deaths captured by official statistics is likely much lower than reality. Only cases diagnosed by doctors as "heatstroke" are counted, while deaths potentially triggered by heat, such as heart disease, kidney failure, and strokes, are overlooked.dtnext

In other words, in India, there are hardly any days when "the heatwave is over, so it's safe now."

2. Why It Focuses on "Women"

Those most exposed to heat stress are among the least able to raise their voices in Indian society, with women at the core.

In India, women make up over 60% of agricultural workers, and more than 60% of female workers in non-agricultural sectors are employed in the informal sector.Mongabay-India

This means the following daily routines:

• Working in the fields from early morning before the heat intensifies, continuing to harvest and weed under nearly 40-degree sunlight before noon.

• In urban areas, women engage in waste collection, street food vending, sewing, and beadwork in poorly ventilated alleys or small rooms with tin roofs.

• Even after work, there is no rest. Most household and care work, such as fetching water, cooking, laundry, child care, and caring for the sick and elderly, falls on women.

Government and international agencies issue messages like "avoid outdoor activities during the day" and "stay indoors" as heatwave countermeasures. However, the home itself is often the hottest and most dangerous workplace, a fact that is often overlooked.

3. When "Inside the House" Becomes a Sauna

In many urban slums and low-income areas in India, houses are made of tin roofs or concrete, with little insulation or ventilation. A survey showed that indoor temperatures often exceed outdoor temperatures, with walls and roofs continuing to emit heat even at night.The Guardian

Fans are available, but they only circulate hot air. Rising electricity costs and power outages can stop even fans, let alone air conditioners.

In this space, women spend all day cooking with fire, doing laundry with boiled water, and showering sweaty children. If a family member collapses from the heat, they also take on nursing duties.

Despite the emergence of a new public health risk of "indoor heat" due to climate change and urbanization, many heat action plans focus on outdoor heat measures, with little attention to the perspective of women who continue to work indoors.The Guardian

4. The "Quiet Changes" Happening Inside the Body

Heat stress is not just about being "uncomfortable" or "unable to sleep." Serious changes are gradually occurring inside women's bodies.

• Hormonal Imbalance
  High-temperature environments affect the endocrine system, potentially causing menstrual cycle irregularities, worsening menstrual pain, and exacerbating PMS, according to increasing research.Mongabay-India

• Impact on Pregnancy and Childbirth
  Research in South Asia links high-temperature exposure during pregnancy to increased risks of low birth weight, preterm birth, and stillbirth. A study in Tamil Nadu, southern India, also showed that working in the heat tends to worsen pregnancy outcomes.Mongabay-India

• Amplification of Menopausal Symptoms
  For menopausal women already prone to hot flashes and insomnia, environments nearing 40 degrees can amplify symptoms many times over. Excessive sweating can lead to dehydration, increasing cardiovascular disease risk.Mongabay-India

• Anemia and Kidney Disease
  A commentary in BMJ warns that frequent heatwaves are worsening anemia among Indian women. A combination of heat-induced loss of appetite, malnutrition, dehydration, and overwork exacerbates the already serious anemia issue.BMJ

• Water Fetching and Toilet Issues
  In areas where water scarcity requires long trips to fetch water, it is mainly women who make multiple trips under the scorching sun. Moreover, due to the scarcity and unsanitary conditions of public toilets, many women limit their water intake, increasing the risk of urinary tract infections and kidney disease.Mahila Housing Trust

All these are statistically processed under different disease names than "heatstroke." This is why the health impacts of heat stress continue to be underestimated.

5. A Day in the Life of Women Working on the Streets and in Factories

Following the NYTimes article title, let's trace a day in the life of female workers in India.

For instance, female street vendors selling fried snacks in Gujarat cities or female sanitation workers collecting waste on the streets. According to brief introductions in economic papers, these women stand along busy roads from early morning, working through the midday peak while sandwiched between the heat radiating from the pavement and vehicle exhaust.The Economic Times

Even on days when temperatures rise close to 45 degrees, they cannot close their stalls to secure sales. Even if they feel dizzy from the heat, "if I take a day off, I can't buy rice tomorrow."

The situation is similar in factories. In garment and textile factories in southern India, female workers continue to sew in large halls with little air conditioning. According to reports covering the fashion industry's supply chain, room temperatures can reach nearly 50 degrees, with dehydration, fatigue, and kidney disorders becoming issues.Reuters

In this way, whether outdoors or indoors, formal or informal, the working conditions for women are the most vulnerable to heat.

6. "Empathy" and "Frustration" Reflected on Social Media

When the NYTimes article was published, links were rapidly shared on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn.X (formerly Twitter)

Reactions largely fell into three tones.

1. Voices of Empathy and Gratitude
   Researchers and journalists specializing in climate change and gender noted posts appreciating the article as a valuable depiction of the heat realities faced by South Asian women. The fact that the specialized term "heat stress" was covered in news for general readers was also seen as significant.

2. Relief and Anger at Finally Being Noticed
   Among users residing in India, some expressed complex feelings, saying, "We've been battling this heat for years, and only now is the world noticing."
   For them, the article was both a joy that their daily struggles were "translated" by international media and an expression of anger that domestic media and the government had not adequately addressed the issue.

3. Frustration with Policies and Proposals
   Some activists and NGO members criticized that many heat action plans are designed with "male outdoor workers" in mind and do not reflect the realities of household work, care work, and home-based workers.
   Along with the assertion that "enduring the heat is not an individual's responsibility but an issue of infrastructure and working conditions," proposals were shared for gender-specific health data collection and incorporating women-led community organizations into policy-making.csf-asia.org

Social media timelines were filled with attempts to shift the perspective from viewing India's heat as "extreme weather in a distant country" to understanding it as a "structural issue intersecting gender and class."

7. What Needs to Change—Focusing on "Fairness" Over "Coolness"

So, what can be done to protect women from heat stress? Insights from various surveys and on-the-ground practices reveal that the key is not so much "coolness" itself, but rather **"fairness."**

• Fairness in Infrastructure
  Install free water points and shaded areas at bus stops, markets, and street vendor areas. Introduce affordable cool roofs (white paint or insulation sheets) on stalls and houses with tin roofs.csf-asia.org

• Fairness in Working Conditions
  Mandate shifts and break times to avoid the hottest hours of the day, and establish work stoppage lines based on heat indices. Even in informal employment, minimum "heat safety standards" need to be set.PMC

• Fairness in Data and Policy
  Collect heat-related death and disease data by gender and understand risks by life stage, such as during pregnancy or menopause. Position women's health and care burdens prominently in national and state heat action plans.##HTML_TAG_