Waiting for Basic Amenities

March 7, 2026

Street vendors in Delhi, already lacking basic amenities, also face rising harassment and exclusion, according to a new report by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), a global network of informal workers.
The intense heat gripping the national capital is no longer just a weather event. For thousands of street vendors across Delhi, it has become a threat to their livelihoods and health.

A survey examining the impact of the severe 2025 summer heatwave found that most vendors were forced to shorten their working hours, as extreme temperatures made it difficult to remain on the streets. Many also faced losses of goods, falling customer numbers and rising expenses.

Researchers say the findings highlight how climate extremes are disproportionately affecting informal workers who rely on outdoor livelihoods.

Working lives disrupted
The study explored how the summer heatwave affected street vendors in Delhi. The report was prepared by Shalini Sinha, WIEGO’s expert on home-based work and Asia strategy, along with urban affairs researcher Aravind Unni, and researchers Rituraj Pegu and Marcela Valdivia.

The two-round survey found that men outnumbered women among the vendors interviewed. Most respondents were aged between 36 and 55, followed by those between 26 and 35. Younger vendors aged 25 or under, and older vendors above 55, accounted for about 20 per cent of those surveyed.

Overall, 77 per cent of vendors were between the ages of 25 and 54, with little variation in age distribution between men and women. The findings suggest that street vending remains a key livelihood for adults in the prime of their working lives.