When livelihoods melt away: Should heat stress be recognised as a human rights issue? | In Focus podcast

Through three harsh summer months this year, about 40 households across Delhi maintained a ‘Garmi Khata’ — a handwritten weekly log of what extreme heat did to their health, income and daily routines. That citizen documentation drive has now culminated in a formal submission to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in July.The submission asks the NHRC to admit the registries as evidence, formally recognise heat as a human rights concern, and fund dedicated Heat Action Plans, including national disaster status for heatwaves. This episode traces how the pilot project turned residents from subjects of a heat survey into authors of their own record, allowing them to build a case for their rights.