India: children and families struggle through yet another extreme heatwave

Responding to this week’s heatwave in India and the fifth heatwave in Delhi since March, Sudarshan Suchi, CEO of Save the Children India, said:

“This week has seen children and families across India struggle through yet another extreme heatwave. In and around Delhi, temperatures hit 49.2C yesterday.

“It is unacceptable to expect anyone to live in these kinds of conditions. Poor and marginalized children and families are more exposed to these kinds of conditions, as they are more likely to be forced out to work or learn in the burning sun, putting them at risk of all kinds of illness.

“A recent study carried out in Maharashtra and Bihar states by Sphere India – a National Coalition of Humanitarian Agencies in India - in collaboration with Save the Children found that a third of respondents said these heatwaves risk plunging them into poverty as their livestock have died and crops have failed – the core things they rely on in order to survive.

“It is becoming more and more clear that the climate crisis poses one of the biggest threats to human survival in India. As the impacts of the crisis get more frequent and severe, children’s futures are on the line. The world needs to act now to rapidly limit warming temperatures, and to fund communities who are at the sharp end in places like India.”

For further enquiries please contact:

• Emily Wight; Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org
• Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44 7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.