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<p>The rising temperatures and corresponding intensified heatwaves have become a critical occupational health threat for many parts of the world, including India. The Indian situation becomes even more alarming, considering the vulnerability in terms of a vast informal and outdoor workforce that is regularly disproportionately exposed to hazardous thermal conditions. This study examines the scale of occupational heat exposure and identifies significant lacunas within the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020. This study reviews secondary data, including historical climate information and international frameworks. The recent development in the form of the ground-breaking WHO-WMO 2025 technical report is reviewed to analyse the impact of unmanaged heat stress on health and economic activities. The findings from these reviews indicate that a large number of Indian workers, of the order of more than 380&#xa0;million, face extreme heat stress, leading to health impacts in the form of chronic kidney diseases, productivity declines and a projected loss of 34&#xa0;million jobs by 2030. The OSH code in the current form fails to provide explicit protection against these unmanaged heat stress conditions and also undermines the different kinds of risks associated with them. These shortcomings in the OSH code are addressed by proposing comprehensive legislative reforms and corrective measures. These measures include integrating the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) impact-based heat wave alerts into the planning of workplace procedures and adoption of globally recognised and regionally tailored principles. The study concludes that customised &amp; enforceable heat action plans with inclusive policy measures are critical to protect workers’ health, sustain nations’ productivity, thereby ultimately promoting the equitable climate resilience in an increasingly warming world.</p>

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Enhancing Indian worker resilience through legal reform and integration of international occupational heat stress guidance

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月21日

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  • Richa Srivastava

摘要

The rising temperatures and corresponding intensified heatwaves have become a critical occupational health threat for many parts of the world, including India. The Indian situation becomes even more alarming, considering the vulnerability in terms of a vast informal and outdoor workforce that is regularly disproportionately exposed to hazardous thermal conditions. This study examines the scale of occupational heat exposure and identifies significant lacunas within the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020. This study reviews secondary data, including historical climate information and international frameworks. The recent development in the form of the ground-breaking WHO-WMO 2025 technical report is reviewed to analyse the impact of unmanaged heat stress on health and economic activities. The findings from these reviews indicate that a large number of Indian workers, of the order of more than 380 million, face extreme heat stress, leading to health impacts in the form of chronic kidney diseases, productivity declines and a projected loss of 34 million jobs by 2030. The OSH code in the current form fails to provide explicit protection against these unmanaged heat stress conditions and also undermines the different kinds of risks associated with them. These shortcomings in the OSH code are addressed by proposing comprehensive legislative reforms and corrective measures. These measures include integrating the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) impact-based heat wave alerts into the planning of workplace procedures and adoption of globally recognised and regionally tailored principles. The study concludes that customised & enforceable heat action plans with inclusive policy measures are critical to protect workers’ health, sustain nations’ productivity, thereby ultimately promoting the equitable climate resilience in an increasingly warming world.