Climate Change Impact on Women Street Vendors in Imphal District, Manipur, India: A Case Study

Abstract

As the global issue of climate change intensifies, it continues to affect major portion of our population to great extent. Occurrence of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy or erratic rainfall, flash floods, hailstorms etc. has become more frequent, posing significant challenges to many sectors of our society. Informal street vendors are among the more affected sections, as they work outdoors with minimal protection or infrastructure and are rarely considered in climate and health interventions, despite the growing climate change concern. A large portion of the street vendors in our country are women, who are already a marginalized section of the society. Many of these women street vendors are sole earners in their households. Their socio-economic vulnerability with minimal support systems and economic instability, further increases their climate-related risks. Understanding the climatic challenges and adaptive responses of women street vendors is important to develop policy interventions. The authors surveyed more than 60 women street vendors in Khwairamband Keithel, Thangal Bazaar, Paona Bazar, Wahengbam Leikai and Nagamapal with primary objectives to understand how their daily operations, income fluctuations, health impacts and coping mechanisms are affected in response to climate related challenges. The findings suggest that climate change has significant effects on income stability, health, working hours, and operational costs. Gender-specific vulnerabilities are also highlighted, with women facing dual burden of income generation and unpaid household work, placing immense physical and emotional strain on them.  Future research should explore long-term adaptation measures and the role of digital tools in supporting women vendors.