LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH — Seasonal salt workers in Gujarat's Little Rann of Kutch are laboring through temperatures that routinely exceed 45 degrees Celsius and can reach 47 to 48 degrees Celsius, after a shift from diesel water pumps to cheaper solar-powered systems extended the salt-production season into the hottest months of the year. Work that used to end around March now continues through the summer, when the India Meteorological Department has forecast an above-normal number of heatwave days this year in several regions, including Gujarat.

Up to 50,000 seasonal workers migrate to the remote region each year for about eight months, living on the salt flats without electricity, healthcare or permanent shelter. A water tanker delivers water for drinking and washing only once every 25 days. Gujarat accounts for roughly three-quarters of India's salt output.

Salt is produced by pumping saline water from bore wells into shallow pans, where it is left to evaporate in the sun and wind. Workers rake the surface of the pans daily to ensure even crystallisation, then break and pile the thick crust into mounds.

"We work in staggered timing, doing our work in early mornings and after sunset. During the hottest hours, it is too hot to stand," said Babulal Narayan, a salt worker in the region.

Workers build their own shelters using frames of sticks covered with coarse homespun cloth and plastered with wild donkey dung. The dung blocks the sun and lets heat escape while the fabric allows some air to pass through. Kanchan Narayan hangs a bottle wrapped in a damp cloth from a string to cool drinking water through evaporation. Another worker, Poornima, drinks black tea during the day to trigger sweating that cools the body in the dry air.

Salt worker Bhavna Rathore described the rhythm of the day. "We sit here every two to three hours so that we do not feel weak or dizzy," she said.

Workers report symptoms of heat stress including fatigue, dizziness and nausea that can lead to organ failure. Studies have found high levels of dehydration, heat stress and early signs of kidney malfunction among salt-pan communities.

A dust storm last month destroyed salt worth 200,000 rupees, Babulal Narayan said. He and five relatives earned a profit of about 250,000 rupees, roughly $2,635, or $450 each, for eight months of labor. Most salt-pan workers return year after year because they have no land to farm and no livestock to earn a livelihood from.