Rising temperature and its impact on India’s socio-economic growth
We had hardly reached mid-April when India had to endure soaring temperatures and scathing heat waves that exposed billions of people to dangerously hot conditions. Most areas in India are experiencing unbearable heat waves due to the average temperature of more than 35˚C. Human-induced climate change has worsened the situation over the decade with every summer smashing the record of the previous year’s highest temperature. In 2023, India Meteorological Department (IMD) flagged a red alarm for many states across India on the heat wave during summer. This has a direct bearing on the outdoor working capacity of India’s labour workforce as India is largely dependent on heat-exposed labour, thereby impacting the country’s economic growth.
As per the report by McKinsey Global Institute, extreme heat will significantly affect the labour workforce in the next three decades. A recent study by scientists at Duke University has also explained how the Indian economy is at high risk due to the socio-economic effects of climate change.
Currently, India is experiencing less productivity due to the hot and humid weather. Although the government is suggesting citizens not be exposed to direct sunlight in the afternoon, from an economic point of view it is not always possible for all. A large number of the population being below the poverty level are forced to work outdoors- engaged in construction work, agriculture, mining, fisheries, and working in brick kiln-sunder direct sunlight. As a result, their health deteriorates drastically due to dehydration and reduces work efficiency. Even the unbearable heat sometimes claims death due to the heat-stroke (as we have seen in the recent death toll of 11 people at a Government-sponsored award ceremony in Maharashtra’s Khargar).
A survey on agricultural labour in India by a research group claimed that the economic loss is predicted around several billion in the summer time whereas no loss is observed when the same people are allowed to work in a lab environment. Similar results are obtained for other daily labourers’ jobs.
From a global perspective, the world shall lose more than 2 percent of total working hours because of lethal heat, with the agriculture and construction sectors set to be the worst hit by 2030, a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has published.
Large-scale afforestation can only mitigate this problem and may reduce the heat wave increasing work efficiency. In recent years, rapid deforestation in India has resulted in rising in the average temperature significantly. The trees keep the surroundings cool through photosynthesis and evapotranspiration. It is observed that deforestation increases the local temperature by half to one degree Celsius.
Hence, as a citizen, we must plant trees to save the efficiency of our labour force and boost the economy of India.
