Chapter 4. Vulnerable Groups during Heatwaves Methodology The studies conducted on populations vulnerable to heatwaves(e.g. Gibb, 2024; Cuomo, 2011), the most vulnerable categories are as follows: 1. People who are homeless or living in precarious conditions(without access to utilities and/or in overcrowded housing); 2. Individuals suffering from cardiovascular and/or respiratory illnesses; 3. Workers who work outdoors and/or in buildings with no ventilation(usually precarious jobs that are generally associated with unskilled work); 4. Elderly people. While people with average incomes may have the option to seek shelter during periods of extreme heat, for those engaged in low-skilled labour or living in precarious conditions, deflection strategies are mostly not an option. The debate around the effects of extreme temperatures on the human body is important not only from the perspective of universal access to a decent life, but also from a cost perspective. Some studies reveal that productivity declines over periods with high temperatures, hence the need to adapt the working hours in order to avoid the times of day when temperatures peak. In some situations, a decline in productivity also goes hand in hand with a decline in incomes for those people who even in normal weather conditions earn low wages. This points to a deepening of financial vulnerability(Phuong, 2013). In addition, vulnerable populations with low or no income also face costs associated with emergency medical care and social assistance. Given the fact that low income is usually linked to precarious nutrition and a limited access to prophylactic medical services, it is to be expected that a large part of the low-income population also suffer from medical conditions, which further complicates the situation(Cusack, 2013). What is more, according to Gibb(2024), because of the extremely high temperatures and the ensuing hyperventilation symptoms during heatwaves, people who work outdoors inhale a greater amount of toxins. Given the high level of air pollution in Bucharest, this could lead to severe health issues for workers in sanitation, construction, delivery, etc. This section’s focal point has been the daily experience of vulnerable people in Bucharest during heatwaves. Generally, as shown above, the public authorities do not concentrate on analysing how extreme weather events affect certain populations disproportionately.(Bicknell et. al, 2009). This is the very reason why we believe that it would be useful to spark a public debate about how these people’s lives are affected, and particularly how the public authorities could manage such periods so as not to further deepen the state of vulnerability. As shown hereinafter, these people lead individual lives and have no systems available to help them navigate the increasingly longer periods of extreme heat. In drafting this report we interviewed individuals who work in delivery, public sanitation(green areas), and the construction sector. The study also includes people who experience homelessness and people who live in informal housing areas. This report draws on nineteen interviews. We mention that for the last two categories(people who experience homelessness and people without legal documentation), the data were collected over a period of three years(2022-2025) during systematic visits to two informal housing areas in Bucharest. Direct contact with the daily lives of the communities over extended periods has allowed for direct observation of the problems these families face during heatwaves. Six interviews were done with people who qualify as rough sleepers and five interviews were done with non-EU workers; eight employees managing green areas were interviewed while on the job, and three people experiencing homelessness who worked as day labourers without legal documentation on construction sites. As for the informal housing communities included in the study, we estimate that there are about 80 people living in three informal housing areas in Bucharest, one in Sector 2 and two others in Sector 6. As part of the methodology we used, the information in this section takes the form of qualitative research and therefore, it is not statistically relevant data. However, the experiences shared by the persons included in the study constitute a good starting point for a public debate concerning social justice within the policies that aim at managing global warming, and provide relevant information from daily experiences that may inform future decisions. In addition, we Bucharest Under Heatwave 23