Climate change has brought heat waves to northern India, but also colder weather. How do people living in poverty and without shelter cope?

In North Indian states like Delhi and Punjab, winters have gotten shorter but have featured more intense cold waves. That has posed a great challenge to the people living in poverty.

Delhi’s state government announced a “winter action plan” that involved setting up hundreds of temporary shelters in response to the cold wave. The government also supports NGOs like Akshaya Patra, which provides hot meals for homeless people.

But the hardship may only get more challenging amid climate change. According to a Lancet Commission study in 2021, the number of annual deaths linked with abnormally cold temperatures is more than 600,000.