translated from Hindi

Delhi Residents Ask NHRC to Declare Extreme Heat a Human Rights Issue

The petition argues that extreme heat is not merely a climatic or public-health problem but a violation of basic rights that demands state recognition, legal protection, and dedicated public funding.

मानवाधिकार आयोग से दिल्लीवासियों की अपील: अत्यधिक गर्मी को मानवाधिकार का मुद्दा घोषित किया जाए

The Wire Hindi · By द वायर स्टाफ · 14 July 2026 · read the original in Hindi →

New Delhi: Residents of various parts of Delhi and workers in the informal sector submitted a detailed memorandum to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday, July 14, calling for extreme heat to be declared a human rights issue and asking the Commission to recommend that governments provide adequate financial resources to address it.

Along with the memorandum, the Commission was also given “heat registries” prepared by citizens. In these, people from different areas of Delhi and from various social groups have recorded, week by week since May 2026, how severe heat has affected their health, livelihoods, income, household expenses, mental state, and ability to live with dignity.

Under this initiative, residents of Sundar Nagri in northeast Delhi, CR Park in south Delhi, Dwarka, Jamia Nagar, and other localities, as well as street vendors, gig workers, home-based workers, students, and elderly people, have been regularly recording their experiences. Documents such as electricity bills, medical records, and records of reduced income have also been attached to these accounts.

“The numbers do not tell the whole story”‘आंकड़े पूरी कहानी नहीं बताते’

In the letter to the Commission, it is stated that official temperature data, surveys, and government reports reveal only a small part of heat’s real human impact. Those most affected are often not in a position to make their voices reach institutions. In this context, the “heat registries” bring forward experiences that do not appear in ordinary statistics.

The letter says that the experiences recorded in these registries are not merely the effects of climate change; they also point to the violation of people’s basic rights.

Citing the Constitution and court judgmentsसंविधान और अदालतों के फैसलों का हवाला

The memorandum states that extreme heat is affecting people’s right to health, their right to live with dignity, and their right to livelihood. In support of this, it cites Supreme Court judgments such as Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, Francis Coralie Mullin v. Delhi Administration, and Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation.

The letter also states that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to a healthy environment. In addition, in M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India (2024), the Supreme Court recognized protection from the adverse effects of climate change as an independent right.

The petitioners also recalled that on April 28, 2026, the National Human Rights Commission had issued an advisory to 21 states and the Delhi government on taking advance measures to protect vulnerable groups from heatwaves.

International courts also citedअंतरराष्ट्रीय अदालतों का भी हवाला

The letter says that in 2025, the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights also stated in their advisory opinions that protecting people from the harmful effects of climate change is a binding human rights obligation of states.

Demand for adequate funding for “heat action plans”‘हीट एक्शन प्लान’ के लिए पर्याप्त फंड की मांग

The memorandum says that although heat action plans exist in many states and cities across the country, there are not enough financial resources to implement them. Measures such as cooling centers, shaded public spaces, arrangements for drinking water, changes in working hours, timely warnings, and preparedness in the health system cannot be effective without adequate budgets.

In this context, the memorandum also refers to the recommendation of the Sixteenth Finance Commission that heatwaves be declared a nationally notified disaster, so that states can receive special financial assistance under disaster management provisions.

“Heat is taking away not only health, but also work”‘गर्मी केवल स्वास्थ्य नहीं, रोज़गार भी छीन रही है’

Mohit Walecha, national coordinator of the Indian Hawkers Alliance, said that the greatest impact of extreme heat falls on the livelihoods of street vendors.

He said, “On days of severe heat, the number of customers falls, and income declines as a result. For workers in the informal sector, there is no social security system that can compensate for this loss. Extreme heat is taking from them not only their earnings, but also their dignity.”

“India needs a rights-based approach”‘भारत में अधिकार-आधारित दृष्टिकोण की जरूरत’

Arpitha Kodiveri, assistant professor of political science at Vassar College and a researcher in climate law, said that India has not yet developed an adequate legal framework for viewing heatwaves from a rights-based perspective.

She said that in many countries around the world, laws are being made to protect workers and vulnerable communities through a human rights-based climate jurisprudence. India, too, needs to declare heatwaves a national disaster and view them through the lens of people’s rights.

According to the environmental group Greenpeace India, the purpose of the “heat registry” initiative is to record the gap between official temperature data and people’s actual lived experience. In it, people write how severe heat has affected their sleep, food, work, studies, income, and health. The organization says that through these personal experiences, an attempt has been made to bring into view the human cost of extreme heat, which is often absent from government data.