Mumbai, April 25 -- The Maharashtra government has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to safeguard outdoor informal workers in urban areas from extreme heat, mandating revised work hours and protective measures during peak summer conditions.

Announcing the guidelines, Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan said the SOP will apply across municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats in high-risk urban areas, including Mumbai, reported Hindustan Times.

Mandatory work-hour changes during heat alerts Under the SOP, during orange and red heat alerts work must be rescheduled to cooler hours (6 am-11 am and 4 pm-8 pm), a compulsory break from 12 noon to 4 pm has been mandated.

The guidelines are particularly ai...