An extreme heatwave hit West Bengal on Saturday, with the threat of a higher amount forecasted to hit the Indian state this summer.
With temperatures surpassing 44 degrees Celsius in some areas, residents in the state capital, Kolkata, stayed in their homes or shelters to keep cool. Others, however, have nowhere to go and are forced to stay outside, especially as they rely on their clientele to keep their businesses afloat and earn an income.
“What can the poor do? We have to do this to feed ourselves. The heat is unbearable,” said rickshaw driver Ram Ji Paswan.
“I have not seen this much heat here. We are facing a lot of trouble. Customers are not coming,” said local costume jewelry store owner Osim Saha.
A vegetable stall owner said she was forced to put wet fabric on her produce to prevent it from rotting in the heat.
In 2022, 90 citizens were killed as a result of a heatwave. The following year, India was hit by repeated heatwaves which resulted in the death of dozens, a mass of damaged crops and a strain on energy resources as temperatures went as high as 47 degrees Celsius.
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