At Delhi’s three giant dumps—Ghazipur, Bhalswa, and Okhla—internal temperatures can soar to 60–70°C in summer, creating “heat-bomb” conditions inside mountains of rotting municipal solid waste where informal waste pickers toil for survival. This trapped heat compounds toxic exposures from methane, fire smoke, and leachate, turning the dumps into public-health hazards that disproportionately punish the city’s poorest workers and their families. Firsthand accounts from waste pickers like Sofia Begum reveal heat-induced infections, respiratory distress, and declining work capacity—symptoms that mirror the science on elevated-temperature landfills and toxic air episodes tied to methane-fueled fires. As climate extremes intensify, Delhi’s waste crisis is becoming deadlier and more unequal, demanding urgent, humane, and inclusive waste management reforms. business-standard
