Kathmandu, July 30 -- In the scorching mid-June afternoon, as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius, 67-year-old Gopal Damai was still pulling his rickshaw through the streets of Mahendranagar in far-western Nepal.

For four decades, he has earned his living transporting goods in the three-wheeled cart. But increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves have made that livelihood harder to sustain.

"I only work in the morning and evening. I can't work during the day," he told Kantipur Daily in May.

"Some days, I don't even earn Rs100. I have to buy vegetables on credit."

The blistering heat has emptied Mahendranagar's streets. Fewer people venture outdoors during the day, leaving Damai with few customers and even fewer opportuniti...