Auto rickshaws, i.e. motorized rickshaws, are parked in the shadows on the roads in Delhi. Its drivers sleep inside – apparently they’ve given up hope of finding customers in the heat. Some even call out to the few passers-by who come out of a nearby subway station on a hot afternoon.
spoil packed lunches
Libin Baxla also spends a lot of time on the streets. The 44-year-old man earns his money as a car driver in Delhi. He is happy that – unlike rickshaw drivers – he earns a fixed monthly salary of 25,000 rupees (310.83 euros). But he also struggles with the heat of waiting outside. Over the weekend he felt sick, had a high fever and diarrhea. A doctor said he must have suffered a heat stroke. Sometimes, he says, the heat spoils the lunch his wife prepares for him in the morning.
less wheat
The heat also affected agriculture. In the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, there was a 10-35% drop in wheat production due to the early heat wave, as reported by The Economic Times.