Indian agricultural workers lost an estimated 163.3 million work hours to heat stress in 2024, equivalent to nearly 54 working days per worker, as rising temperatures increasingly threaten food production and food security while raising fresh concerns over food inflation.
A new global study found that farm workers in India now lose an average 648 work hours annually to extreme heat — a 52% increase since 1990 — with losses continuing to rise by around 4.5 hours every year as climate change intensifies.
The finding comes as scientists forecast a strong El Niño later this year, raising concerns over fresh crop losses and supply disruptions at a time when India is already witnessing increasingly frequent weather extremes.
The report notes that India experienced extreme weather events on 331 out of 334 days between January and November 2025, including heatwaves, floods, heavy rainfall, landslides and extreme cold conditions. These events claimed at least 4,419 lives and caused widespread crop damage across the country.
According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), India’s agricultural workforce lost 16.7% more work hours than in 2022 and 45.4% since 2014, highlighting the accelerating impact of heat stress on farm productivity. Researchers estimate that Indian farm workers are effectively losing nearly two months of productive work every year because of rising temperatures.
Based on the study’s methodology, which measures heat-related productivity losses against a standardised 12-hour agricultural workday, the average 648 hours lost per worker in India last year translates into nearly 54 working days annually.
The findings carry significant implications for consumers as well. India has already witnessed how climate shocks can quickly translate into food inflation. In 2023, extreme rainfall damaged tomato crops and pushed prices up by as much as 400%, while extreme heat and humidity, combined with record monsoon rainfall, affected rice production and contributed to supply concerns and export restrictions.
“Climate change is growing, hitting the food crops themselves, but also the workers we rely on to produce them,” said Gareth Redmond-King, Head of International Programme at ECIU.
“In countries like India where temperatures are reaching the high forties, it is simply dangerous to be outside working. That puts health, livelihoods and steady food supplies at risk,” he said.
The study found that India is among a group of major agricultural economies facing rapidly rising heat stress. Along with India, countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are witnessing growing losses in agricultural productivity because of extreme heat. These countries collectively play a critical role in global supplies of rice, sugar, coffee, cocoa, fruits, vegetables and other food commodities.
Globally, agricultural workers lost a record 640 billion potential work hours due to heat exposure in 2024, the hottest year on record. The figure was nearly 98% higher than the average recorded during the 1990s. Agriculture accounted for almost 63.5% of all work hours lost worldwide, making it the sector most exposed to rising temperatures and humidity.
Researchers warn that the next El Niño cycle could worsen the situation. The weather phenomenon is expected to develop in a world already around 1.4°C warmer than pre-industrial levels and could add another 0.2°C to global temperatures, potentially making 2027 the hottest year ever recorded. El Niño typically disrupts rainfall patterns and affects yields of key crops such as rice, sugar and coffee.
The report also linked climate change with rising food costs. Previous ECIU analysis found that climate impacts added around £360 to average household food bills over two years. Researchers warned that continued heat stress, crop losses and weather-related disruptions could increasingly affect food prices and affordability across major agricultural economies, including India.
For a country where agriculture supports millions of livelihoods and food inflation remains closely monitored by policymakers, the report warns that rising heat stress is no longer just a climate challenge. It is becoming a farm productivity, food security and consumer affordability issue.
TOPICSagricultureECONOMYThis article was first uploaded on June eight, twenty twenty-six, at twenty-four minutes past seven in the evening. © IE Online Media Services (P) Ltd