India is experiencing the aftereffects of climate change in an unprecedented manner. While people in North India are struggling with extended heatwaves, with temperatures in the country’s capital soaring to a record-high of 52.3 degrees Celsius on May 29, the southern tip of Kerala is witnessing heavy rains. Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by extreme weather conditions and can suffer from heat strokes as well as vector-borne and water-borne diseases.

In fact, Food and Agricultural Organisation’s recent report (‘Unjust Climate: Measuring the Impacts of Climate Change on Rural Poor, Women, and Youth’) underlines that poor households lose around five per cent of their total income annually due to heat stress compared to better-off households. The study also suggests that a one-degree Celsius rise in temperature increases poor households’ dependence on agriculture by 53 per cent compared to non-poor households, while decreasing their off-farm income opportunities by 33 per cent.