The British embassy in Delhi has issued a warning to expatriates as the city swelters under a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures hitting 45 degrees Celsius. But while the well-off can retreat to air-conditioned compounds, the poor are left to face a survival crisis. Sources on the ground confirm that hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers are without adequate water or shelter.
This is not merely a weather event. It is a crisis of infrastructure, of governance, and of indifference. The embassy's advisory urges Britons to stay hydrated and avoid the midday sun: a luxury unavailable to the rickshaw puller or the construction worker.
Uncovered documents from city planning departments reveal that emergency cooling centres have been underfunded for years. Meanwhile, hospitals report a surge in heatstroke cases, with the dead left unidentified in overcrowded mortuaries. The heat does not discriminate.
But our systems do. Follow the money: the real question is why a city that spends billions on flyovers and stadia cannot provide shade for its labourers. This is a slow-motion scandal, unfolding one degree at a time.
