As the capital sizzles under a severe heatwave, the effect is visible across class even when survival has become a challenge for the vulnerable groups. Loo sweeping through the streets till late evening and electricity demand touching record levels and rising cases of heatstroke are a few of the key side-effects. Nights are no cooler—concrete buildings trap heat and the city gasps for breath, leading to an increased dependence on air conditioners for the privileged.
While the heat affects everyone, the experience of surviving it is very different for a section of people who call the streets their home.
Under flyovers, near railway stations and even along footpaths, homeless families face some of the toughest conditions during the summer months. These families sleep on thin sheets spread over hot concrete surfaces. Plastic sheets, torn cloth and banners become temporary shelters against the scorching heat.
Construction workers, roadside mechanics, loaders, delivery riders, gig workers—continue to be one of the most vulnerable groups—working for long hours despite soaring temperatures. For them, missing work often means losing a day’s income.
Healthcare experts opine that dehydration is leading to increasing cases of heatstroke, with patients complaining of breathing problems and exhaustion.
Discomfort in contrast
Children growing in settlements by the road often play barefoot on scorching roads as parents try to comfort them with wet pieces of cloth or handmade fans. Access to basic amenities, such as drinking water facilities or sanitation, remains a constant struggle. Health problems are common with the residents, often complaining of dizziness, weakness, headaches and body pain.
At construction sites across the city, workers carry bricks, cement and iron rods under direct sunlight. Many wrap wet cloth around their heads or rest briefly under temporary tin sheds before returning to work. Labourers say metal tools and concrete surfaces become unbearably hot by afternoon. Yet missing work means losing wages.
Street vendors, mandi workers face another harsh reality—under plastic sheets and metal roofs, the trapped heat feels even more intense. Gig workers continue moving across the city to complete deliveries despite the extreme conditions. Not just physical discomfort, the rising temperatures damage fresh stock faster, increasing their financial losses.
In contrast, government officials and private office employees experience the heat differently. While rising temperatures and power cuts affect travel and daily routines, most spend working hours inside air-conditioned offices shielded from direct exposure to sunlight.
Government buildings, malls, corporate offices and private institutions run air-conditioners continuously through the day. Many employees avoid stepping outdoors during peak afternoon hours, relying on indoor cooling for relief. For much of Delhi’s middle- and upper-class population, surviving summer increasingly depends on air-conditioners, coolers and uninterrupted electricity.
Inside gated housing societies, the heatwave has pushed life indoors. Parks and open spaces remain deserted in the afternoons, children avoid outdoor play, and many families rely on online deliveries to minimise movement outside.
All-time high power, water demand
On May 21 this year, Delhi recorded a peak power demand of 8,231 MW, its highest ever for the date, marking a drastic rise from just 2,783 MW on May 21, 2021, according to official data. In six years, the city’s electricity demand on the corresponding day has nearly tripled, underlining the sharp heat-driven power consumption.
According to the official data of the Ministry of Power, the power demand never touched the 8,000 mark in the month of May in the past six years. Experts say air conditioners alone account for a major increase in electricity usage in the summer months.
The unequal access to cooling and electricity highlights a larger divide in how Delhi and its neighbouring cities survive extreme weather. For wealthy families, the heat mainly means higher electricity bills and staying indoors. For the underprivileged, it is hotter days under the sun affecting their survival.
The weather department has been constantly issuing advisories to citizens asking them to stay hydrated. For many working outdoors, access to water becomes one of the biggest problems.
“We freeze water at home and carry it in the morning,” says Sunita, who works at a construction site in Ashok Nagar. “But by 11 a.m. it becomes hot again; searching for cold water becomes a task.”
In the case of street vendors, access depends heavily on geography and goodwill. Some refill bottles at public toilets, roadside kiosks or gurudwaras. Some others negotiate with nearby shopkeepers for a place to keep their water containers. These small arrangements become essential support systems.
Near a wholesale market in Okhla, a vegetable vendor guards a large plastic can beside his cart. The water is meant for everything — drinking, washing hands and sprinkling vegetables to keep them fresh. “I don’t even drink enough myself because I have to save water for the vegetables,” he says. Across Delhi, the heatwave has exposed deep inequalities in access to basic resources.
In several parts of Delhi, residents store extra water fearing shortages, while in others, summer brings back the yearly anxiety over tanker arrivals and limited supply hours. “Once summer arrives, our routine changes completely,” says a resident of East Delhi.
“We wake up worrying whether water came in the morning and if it will last through the day.” Families closely track supply timings, as even a delayed tanker or weak flow can disrupt daily life. The contrast is sharp—while some households adjust air-conditioner temperatures for comfort, others ration water carefully to make it last till evening.
On the ground
Public hospitals often see crowded emergency wards during severe heatwave days. At least 15 to 25 cases were reported across city hospitals on Friday this week. Doctors warned that heatstroke can escalate rapidly and may prove fatal if not treated promptly. With neighbouring regions such as Noida and Ghaziabad already under red alert, indicating severe conditions, health experts caution that the number of cases could rise sharply in the coming days.
Environmental experts say Delhi-NCR’s rapid urban growth is worsening the situation. The summer has become more than just a weather event. It now reflects the city’s deep social and economic inequalities. The same sun burns across every corner of the capital, but people experience it very differently depending on where they live, how much they earn, and whether they have access to water, electricity, and shelter.
Radha Damai, a househelp from Vikaspuri, said this year’s heat has become extremely difficult to manage, especially while travelling between houses in the afternoon. “In many homes where I work, air conditioners run throughout the day, but outside the roads feel unbearably hot and suffocating. The constant shift between cold and heat affects my health. By the time I reach the third or fourth house, I feel completely drained,” she said.
Damai now carries glucose water and covers herself with a scarf to protect against the sun. She added that working in kitchens becomes exhausting because of the heat from cooking. “Many times I feel dizzy while working, but taking leave is not easy because missing even one day affects my monthly income,” she said.
Sunita, a domestic worker from Kondli in east Delhi, said cooking in multiple homes during summer has become extremely tiring. “I cook in four houses during the first half of the day and make rotis in two more homes in the evening. In this weather, I have to take small breaks every 30 minutes. Washing terraces at 11 am feels almost impossible,” she said, adding that by the time she returns home she is often “on the verge of fainting”.
The heatwave has also changed scenes at Delhi’s grain and vegetable markets, where vendors are seen sprinkling water on themselves and sitting beside covered ice blocks to cope with the scorching temperatures.
Ram Kumar, a daily wage labourer working at a construction site in West Delhi, said the heat has made outdoor work nearly unbearable. “By afternoon, the iron rods, cement and walls become extremely hot. Standing at the site for long hours feels
impossible,” he said. Labourers now begin work early in the morning to avoid
peak temperatures and take short breaks under whatever shade they can find. “Many workers in our group have fainted because of the heat, but daily wage work cannot stop. If we miss a day, we lose our earnings,” he added.
Babloo, a rickshaw worker associated with a confectionery distributor in Dwarka, said pulling loaded rickshaws in the heat has become extremely difficult. “The roads become unbearably hot by afternoon. We sit under trees or in shaded areas whenever possible,” he said. While government cooling camps offer some relief,
Babloo said sudden shifts between cool shelters and the harsh outdoor heat affect workers physically. “Sometimes it feels like we may fall sick because of the sudden temperature change. But we still have to work because our families depend on our daily earnings,” he said, adding that fewer customers now use rickshaws in the heat, reducing incomes further.
Mahender Singh, a security guard at a housing society in Madhu Vihar, said even coolers stop being effective during peak afternoon hours. “We have a small room with a fan and cooler, but when the air outside is extremely hot, even the cooler starts throwing warm air,” he said. Sitting at the gate during long afternoon shifts becomes exhausting as hot winds blow continuously. “We keep drinking water and washing our faces repeatedly just to manage the duty,” he added.
Parking attendants working outdoors throughout the day face similar hardships. Gautam Veer, an attendant at Bengali Market, said he carries frozen water bottles and lemon water to survive the heat. Asked whether he had received ORS sachets from the government, he remarked, “Sarkar bas time se salary hi dede to vahi badi baat hai” (If only the government paid salaries on time, that itself would be a big thing).
Ratnu Sahu, a vegetable seller in Mahendru Enclave, said roadside vendors are struggling not only to protect themselves from the heat but also to keep vegetables fresh. “We constantly sprinkle water on the vegetables so they do not dry out,” he said. Sahu has covered his stall with a tarpaulin sheet and wet thatch to reduce the temperature. “Without these arrangements, neither we nor the vegetables can survive the afternoon heat,” he added.
Advocate Akarshan Bhardwaj said the black coats worn by lawyers absorb heat, making long hours inside crowded court complexes extremely uncomfortable. He pointed out that several courts still lack adequate cooling facilities in lobbies and waiting areas despite heavy footfall. “Overcrowding, poor ventilation and rising temperatures make it difficult for both lawyers and litigants to remain inside for long periods,” he said.
Across the city, residents and volunteers have also been setting up stalls distributing chilled drinking water to commuters, labourers and rickshaw pullers. Manjeet Singh, a resident of east Delhi, called it an important humanitarian gesture during the ongoing heatwave. “Even a small effort like offering cold drinking water can provide major relief and help prevent
dehydration, exhaustion and heatstroke,” he said.
Bhura, a daily wage labourer, said surviving without work is not an option despite the extreme weather. “We earn daily and survive on what we make each day. Missing even one day makes it difficult to run the household,” he said. Labourers, he added, try to find indoor work during summers to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun but often have no choice except outdoor labour. “Economic compulsions force us to continue working,” he said.
Ramesh Kumar, who works at a tandoor preparing naan, described summers as especially punishing. “The tandoor becomes incredibly hot, and we have to keep reaching our hands inside it throughout the day. In winter it is manageable, but during summer it becomes unbearable,” he said.
Rising cases in city
Public hospitals often see crowded emergency wards during severe heatwave days. At least 15 to 25 cases were reported across city hospitals on Friday this week. Doctors warned that heatstroke can escalate rapidly if not treated.
Vendors’ story of survival
Local vendors said heatwave has made not just their survival but also business difficult. Vegetable sellers constantly sprinkle water to keep the produce fresh, while mandi workers struggle under tin roofs that trap afternoon heat.
High Power demand
According to the official data, power demand never touched the 8,000 MW mark in the month of May in the past six years. Experts say air conditioners account for a major increase in electricity usage in the summer months. The city logged peak power demand at 8,231 MW this year which is a all-time high.
Relief efforts in city
Across the city, residents and volunteers have been setting up stalls, distributing chilled water to commuters, labourers and rickshaw pullers. Manjeet Singh, a resident of east Delhi, called it an important humanitarian gesture during the ongoing heatwave.