Answer

Soaring urban temperatures—intensified by climate change and urban heat islands—pose serious threats to informal workers like street vendors who lack protective infrastructure. As Indian cities grapple with environmental extremes, these vulnerabilities reflect broader governance failures and threaten the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11: inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities.

Socio-Economic Consequences for Informal Workers

• Increased Health Risks and Exposure: Informal workers endure direct heat exposure due to outdoor working conditions and inadequate urban resilience infrastructure.
  For example: The 2025 Sustainable Futures Collective report shows Indian cities lack long-term planning to address climate and urban heat risks.
• Income Volatility from Weather Disruptions: Heat waves reduce daily earnings for street vendors who must shorten working hours or stop early due to exhaustion, leading to economic insecurity.
  For example: The report shows urban poor face high climate vulnerability due to poor preparedness only 17 cities had city resilience strategies in 2023.
• Disproportionate Impact in Informal Settlements: Informal workers often reside in unplanned areas, worsening heat effects due to poor infrastructure, congested housing, and lack of green cover.
  For example: The Annual Survey of Indian City Systems (2023) found uneven disaster preparedness and resilience planning across Indian cities.
• Lack of Basic Services Like Water: Soaring temperatures increase demand for hydration and cooling, but informal zones lack water supply or cooling amenities, straining worker health.
  For example: The NITI Aayog SDG Urban Index does not fully assess access to water or climate-adaptive urban services, limiting accountability.
• Rising Urban Inequality: Heat amplifies urban inequality—those without access to cooling, sanitation, or housing face greater risk, perpetuating marginalisation.
  For example: The Sustainable Futures Collective highlights disparities in inclusivity and access to basic urban services across cities like Jaipur and Kolkata.

Inter-Sectoral Governance to Improve Working Conditions

• Localised Climate and Safety Plans: City-specific planning must address informal workers’ needs through coordinated action between health, labour, and urban departments.
  For example: Only 16 Indian cities had ‘ city sustainability plans’ in 2023—revealing critical governance gaps in protecting vulnerable workers.
• Smart Cities Infrastructure for Heat Resilience: Smart Cities must integrate real-time urban data to safeguard informal zones via shade structures, water stations, and safety alerts.
  For example: Integrated Command and Control Centres under the Smart Cities Mission remain underutilised for real-time planning against heat stress.
• Update Urban Indices to Include Informal Sector: Governance frameworks need to track SDG-11 progress with informal sector inclusion to inform responsive policymaking.
  For example: The NITI Aayog SDG Urban Index and Ease of Living Index exclude key indicators affecting street vendors like microclimate risk or water access.
• Strengthen Urban Local Bodies (ULBs): Empowering ULBs with local data enables targeted actions for informal workers through area-specific planning.
  For example: Reports suggest replication of successful district-level SDG tracking models at the urban scale to address informal sector challenges.
• Conduct Urban Poor Quality of Living Surveys: Periodic surveys can map the working conditions of informal workers and guide responsive urban planning.
  For example: India still relies on Census 2011 data—creating blind spots in policymaking for informal workers facing extreme climate risks.

Inter-Sectoral Governance to Mitigate Climate Risks

• Build Integrated Sustainability Frameworks: Combining efforts across environment, health, and planning sectors can ensure climate risk mitigation for cities and their informal economies.
  For example: The 2025 Sustainable Futures Collective report suggest four distinct indices safety, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability—for urban performance measurement.
• Prioritise High-Risk Cities in Planning: Cities with the lowest rankings in sustainability or resilience should receive priority interventions to avoid future climate-linked livelihood losses.
  For example: Jaipur ranked lowest in resilience and inclusivity; Kolkata ranked lowest in safety and sustainability in the new framework.
• Develop Data-Driven Climate Action Plans: Robust inter-sectoral action depends on real-time, locally grounded data to model heat risk and implement mitigation.
• Include Informal Workers in Urban Climate Models: Mapping and modelling climate impacts on informal livelihoods ensures fair climate adaptation and risk sharing.
  For example: The National Urban Policy Framework (NUPF) recommends inclusive, participatory planning by recognising informal workers’ needs.
• Create City-Specific Climate Adaptation Plans: Each city needs tailored adaptation strategies based on its unique urban heat and climate risk profile.
  For example: Ahmedabad ranked first in inclusivity, while Chennai led in climate resilience, showcasing how city-specific data can guide effective responses.

Rising urban heat magnifies risks for India’s informal workers, revealing deep governance gaps in climate resilience and inclusivity. Achieving SDG-11 requires strong inter-sectoral action, robust data systems, and urban strategies that prioritise the most exposed. Empowered local bodies and adaptive planning can drive equitable and climate-resilient urban transformation.

DOWNLOAD PDF