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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: INDIA HEAT WAVE
HEADLINE: India’s Extreme Heat Extracts its Heaviest Toll from Those Working Outdoors
TEASER: India loses more than 100 billion hours of labor every year due to intense heat
PUBLISHED AT: Monday, 05/23/2022 at 06:49 EDT
BYLINE: Anjana Pasricha
DATELINE: NEW DELHI
VIDEOGRAPHER: Darshan Singh
PRODUCER: Jon Spier
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd, Salem Solomon
VIDEO SOURCES: Original,
PLATFORMS: WEB X TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:51
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is an accompanying web article))
((INTRO))
[[The most devastating impact of a deadly heat wave that has wracked India for more than two months is felt by people who work outdoors in its vast cities. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha reports on the hardship such extreme climate events are having on vulnerable populations.]]
((VIDEO: Pradeep Kumar making cold drink, giving it to customer, stirring cold drink, customer drinking it, women walking covering their head, man drinking water))
((NARRATOR))
Pradeep Kumar can earn nearly $8 daily with the traditional cold drink that he makes at his cart in a popular market in New Delhi. Supposed to cool the body, the beverage has been much in demand since a brutal heat wave gripped India early in March.
((VIDEO: Kumar making cold drink))
But the unrelenting heat takes its toll on the young worker.
((Pradeep Kumar, Street Cart Owner, male in Hindi))
“I am exhausted every night after standing under the sun. Sometimes I fall sick due to the heat and then I need to rest for a few days.”
((VIDEO: Men with a fruit cart, handing over cold drink to customer, tailor on the roadside, women having cold drink))
((NARRATOR))
Kumar is not the only one bearing the brunt of income loss due to high temperatures.
Between 2001 and 2020, India lost about 100 billion hours of labor per year costing the country’s economy billions of dollars, according to a Duke University study.
The most severe impact is on people who work outdoors — at construction sites or in markets where concrete buildings and roads trap the heat.
((VIDEO: Man having bath, worker doing construction, cold water cart, Divyanshu Pratap at his clothes stall))
Divyanshu Pratap who has been working at a pavement stall since he came from his village in March knows it firsthand.
((Divyanshu Pratap, Pavement Hawker - male in Hindi))
“When I am working, the sun blazes on my head and I get dizzy spells. Then I feel weak and fall down.”
((VIDEO: Men at a juice cart, man at his cold drink stall, construction labor working))
((NARRATOR))
The heat waves are a huge health hazard — with no place to shelter, most of these workers cannot heed a government advisory to avoid being outdoors between noon and 3 p.m.
((Avikal Somvanshi, Senior Program Manager, Center for Science and Environment))
“Heat strokes are the second biggest natural force which is killing people in India after lightning. In fact, more than 20,000 people have died in last the 20 years because of heat stroke and over half of them are men who are aged between 30 to 60 which is working-class people who are working outdoors. This is not just exhaustion or just discomfort. It is actually killing people.”
((VIDEO: Laborers working on roadside, Virendra pulling rickshaw, rickshaw puller peddling))
((NARRATOR))
Laborers toiled at construction sites even as temperatures soared above 45 degrees Celsius on many days in the past weeks.
This rickshaw puller ferries customers over short distances but needs to rest frequently.
((Virendra, Rickshaw Puller, male in Hindi,)) ((uses first/one name only))
“It is very hard to work. It is unbearably hot. I sweat, my throat keeps getting parched and I worry that I will fall sick. I need much more energy to ride the rickshaw in summer compared to winter.”
((VIDEO: Laborer drinking water, man having cold drink, man at his fruit cart, construction laborer, men at juice cart))
((NARRATOR))
The plight of these workers could worsen amid warnings that climate change will result in more frequent heat waves in the coming years.
((Anjana Pasricha for VOA News, New Delhi))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 23, 2022 06:53 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
