New Delhi

A group of Delhi residents, along with environmental organisation Greenpeace India, has written to the NHRC, urging it to recognise extreme heat as a human rights issue and recommend adequate funding for Heat Action Plans, according to an official statement.

The residents and Greenpeace India submitted a formal letter along with citizen-maintained 'Heat Registries' to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), containing first-hand testimonies and documentary evidence, including medical bills, electricity bills and income records, to highlight the impact of extreme heat on health, livelihoods, income and dignity, the statement said.

According to the statement, residents from Sunder Nagri, CR Park, Dwarka and Jamia Nagar, along with street vendors, gig workers, home-based workers, students and elderly people, have been maintaining weekly Heat Registries since May to document how rising temperatures have affected their daily lives.

The letter said the residents had placed before the Commission “a body of firsthand testimonial evidence of the human cost and rights deprivation caused by extreme heat” and urged it to recognise “extreme heat as a human rights issue and the role it plays in rights deprivation.”

“Extreme heat doesn’t only affect the health of informal workers. For street vendors, the most significant loss is their work itself. There is less footfall during extreme-heat days, leading to a loss of income and livelihood. Extreme heat is taking away both their earnings and their dignity, and there is no system to protect them,” said Mohit Valecha, National Coordinator of the Indian Hawkers Alliance, who maintained the 'heat registries' and was part of the group that submitted the letter.

It said the registries recorded how extreme heat affected “daily life, work, health, income, livelihood, household finances and overall wellbeing” and were supported by electricity bills, medical records and income documents showing “both the cost of coping with heat and the health and financial harm it causes.”

The letter said the registries made visible “a reality that statistics do not talk about”, arguing that surveys, temperature data and official accounts captured only a fraction of the harm caused by extreme heat.

According to the statement, the submission urged the Commission to recommend that the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, other heat-vulnerable states and the Centre ensure dedicated funding for Heat Action Plans. It said the plans required funding for cooling shelters, shaded public spaces, drinking water access, adjusted working hours, early warning systems and health preparedness.

The residents also urged the Commission to take the Heat Registries on record as evidence and recognise the impacts of extreme heat as a human rights concern. The submission covers around 40 residents and households in Delhi, including outdoor workers, women, children and elderly people, according to the statement.

The letter also sought implementation of the Sixteenth Finance Commission’s recommendation to notify heatwaves as a nationally recognised disaster, saying it would help unlock dedicated funds for prevention, preparedness and relief.

It further noted that the NHRC had, on April 28 this year, issued an advisory to 21 states and the Delhi government, asking them to take advance measures to protect vulnerable populations from heatwaves.

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“These testimonies and the evidence submitted alongside the letter show that extreme heat is not just an environmental issue, it is a human rights issue. Through these Heat Registries, citizens are documenting their lived experiences of how extreme heat impacts their health, livelihoods, income, well-being, mobility and dignity, often with no meaningful protection,” said Aakiz Farooq, Senior Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace India.