“Today was the worst day this year. I could have fainted today for sure,” a roadside vendor had said to me in Delhi. Things have been building up in the last few years but the heat in India this summer has been absolutely unbearable. The people most impacted are the poorest of them all – daily wagers, delivery boys, roadside vendors and anyone who can’t afford swanky air conditioners.  

Climate change is bad for everyone but it is worse for the poor. 

This is not only in India; many parts of the world are facing extreme weather events, as can be seen through these photos bearing witness to climate change in different parts of the world in the last few months. What is scary is to see, how governments are accepting this as the new normal. Until world leaders come together and commit to ambitious actions for climate and social equity, no one is safe. 

Heat wave in North India

A serious heatwave gripped India this week, forecasting deadly temperatures across the region with the hottest March in 122 years and the average rainfall of the season is at its third-lowest.

May 11, 2022. Shivaram, a villager walking through the cracked bottom of a dried-out pond on a hot summer day at Bandai village in Pali district. - Every day dozens of villagers, mostly women and children, wait with blue plastic jerry cans and metal pots for a special train bringing precious water to people suffering a heatwave in India's desert state of Rajasthan. ©PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images.
May 11, 2022. Shivaram, a villager walking through the cracked bottom of a dried-out pond on a hot summer day at Bandai village in Pali district. – Every day dozens of villagers, mostly women and children, wait with blue plastic jerry cans and metal pots for a special train bringing precious water to people suffering a heatwave in India’s desert state of Rajasthan.
© PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images.

Flooding and landslides in Brazil 

Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 106 people in northeastern Brazil.

On May 31, 2022. A man carries a mattress after a landslide in the community Vila dos Milagres in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil, Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain have now killed at least 106 people in northeastern Brazil. SERGIO MARANHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
On May 31, 2022. A man carries a mattress after a landslide in the community Vila dos Milagres in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 106 people in northeastern Brazil.
© SERGIO MARANHAO/AFP via Getty Images

Floods in Assam, India

Villagers wade through a flooded road after heavy rains in the Hojai district of India’s Assam state. About 700000 people are impacted due to flooding across 22 districts in Assam.

A man carrying his bicycle crosses a damaged road due to flooding after heavy rains in Nagaon, Assam, on May 19, 2022. - At least 10 people, including a four-year-old child have died in floods and landslides this week after unusually heavy rains pummelled several parts of India, as forecasters warned on May 18 of more deluges. © BIJU BORO/AFP via Getty Images
A man carrying his bicycle crosses a damaged road due to flooding after heavy rains in Nagaon, Assam, on May 19, 2022. – At least 10 people, including a four-year-old child have died in floods and landslides this week after unusually heavy rains pummelled several parts of India, as forecasters warned on May 18 of more deluges.
© BIJU BORO/AFP via Getty Images

Flooding and mudslides in South Africa

Torrential rains continue to cause widespread destruction in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Hundreds of people have lost their lives, and countless homes have been destroyed. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the floods.

A crack in the road following heavy rains and winds in Durban, on April 12, 2022. - At least five people have been killed in floods and mudslides across South Africa's port city of Durban following heavy rains in recent days. Days of rains have flooded several areas and shut dozens of roads across the city © PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP via Getty Images
A crack in the road following heavy rains and winds in Durban, on April 12, 2022. – At least five people have been killed in floods and mudslides across South Africa’s port city of Durban following heavy rains in recent days. Days of rains have flooded several areas and shut dozens of roads across the city
© PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP via Getty Images