Surviving Extreme Heat in India
Sunday, 2026/06/07166 words3 minutes545 reads
Banda, a district in India's Uttar Pradesh state, experienced extreme heat in May. Temperatures reached 47-48°C for more than a week, making it the hottest place in the country. The heat has forced the district's two million residents to completely reorganize their daily lives.
By 6am, the sun already feels like afternoon. The vegetable market at Atarra opens at dawn and closes by 8am. Farmers must sell their produce quickly before the heat spoils it. Workers have adapted their schedules too. Mason Pappu Verma works from 7am to noon, then again from 4pm to 7pm, avoiding the dangerous midday heat.
The heat affects everyone, but poor people suffer most. Road workers eat lunch under water tankers, seeking any shade they can find. One worker, Shanti Devi, said: "Poor people don't have the luxury of worrying about the heat." Local hospitals treat 15-20 heatwave patients daily, mostly children and elderly people. Scientists warn that the situation is getting worse due to deforestation, sand mining, and groundwater depletion.
