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Heat and Debt: Climate Change and Poverty in Rural South Asia

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Heat and Debt: Climate Change and Poverty in Rural South Asia

The weather-related struggles faced by informal workers of India are intimately linked to the debt crisis that has long been brewing in the countryside.

Heat and Debt: Climate Change and Poverty in Rural South Asia
Credit: Depositphotos

It has been an unusually hot summer even for Kolkata, the capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. Usually, the month of June is when the oppressive heat of the summer makes way for the first monsoon showers, and the city heaves a sigh of relief from the relentless heat and humidity of the previous three months. But in June 2023, Kolkata experienced day-time temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, with humidity hovering at around 80 percent. 

For those who could afford it, this extreme temperature and humidity meant staying put at home – preferably with the air conditioner or air cooler on full blast. However, in a country where only about 24 percent of the households own either of these appliances – for West Bengal specifically, the figure is just 5 percent – for most people, there is no escaping the heat. 

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