The boreal summer of 2024 has unusually affected the health of people in India. The number of cases of heat stroke rose across the nation and stakeholders issued warnings to prevent health problems and deaths from the heat. The effect was felt more in those states that usually have higher temperatures and dry weathers, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Normally, government and non-government stakeholders target interventions towards marginalized populations and economically weaker sections (a category of people in India who have an annual family income of less than 800,000 rupees) to reduce the health impact of heat. In 2024, a group of individuals including Jain monks were affected by the heatwaves in the western states of India.

Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions, more than 2,500 years old, with a small following mainly in India. The Jain monks live a spartan life surviving on basic necessities, and keep travelling from village to village throughout their lives. They follow certain religious restrictions that make them vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. Summer is the time when the monks move across the states on foot to reach a specific place where they will spend the next four months of monsoon. They start walking barefoot in the early morning, aiming to reach a nearby resting place by midday. They plan their travel to reach a pre-decided religious site by March before the peak summer starts. But at times it is difficult if the journey is to another state where they have to travel hundreds of kilometres on foot. Jain monks do not use vehicles, footwear, electricity or electronic gadgets. Efforts are made to avoid wheelchairs unless they are extremely weak. The monks collect food from different homes following specific preconditions, including no mobile phone use. These conditions lead to visiting higher numbers of homes for food and water. During the summer, when the need for water increases, monks must go out barefoot to collect water more often than usual.

2024 年的北方夏季异常影响了印度人民的健康。全国中暑病例数上升，利益相关者发出警告，以防止高温导致健康问题和死亡。这种影响在通常气温较高和天气干燥的邦，如拉贾斯坦邦、古吉拉特邦和中央邦，感受更为明显。通常，政府和非政府利益相关者将干预措施针对边缘化人群和经济弱势群体（印度家庭年收入低于 800,000 卢比的一类人），以减少高温对健康的影响。2024 年，包括耆那教僧侣在内的一群人受到印度西部各邦热浪的影响。

耆那教是世界上最古老的宗教之一，已有 2,500 多年的历史，主要在印度有一小部分追随者。耆那教僧侣过着简朴的生活，靠基本必需品生存，一生都在从一个村庄到另一个村庄旅行。他们遵循某些宗教限制，这使他们容易患上与高温相关的疾病。夏季是僧侣们步行穿越各州到达特定地点的时候，他们将在那里度过接下来四个月季风。他们从清晨开始赤脚走路，目标是在中午之前到达附近的休息地点。他们计划在 3 月之前在夏季高峰期开始之前到达预先确定的宗教场所。但有时，如果旅程是到另一个州，他们必须步行数百公里，那就很困难了。耆那教僧侣不使用车辆、鞋子、电力或电子产品。尽量避免使用轮椅，除非轮椅非常虚弱。僧侣们按照特定的前提条件从不同的家庭收集食物，包括不使用手机。这些情况导致更多的家庭去寻找食物和水。在夏季，当对水的需求增加时，僧侣必须比平时更频繁地赤脚外出取水。