Mongabay | India | 10:42 min | 2025

LANGUAGE: Marwadi/English

How rising heat affects the nomadic Raikas: Walking Against the Heat | Mongabay-India x ALT EFF: The Raika camel and sheep herders confront an uncertain future shaped by heat and change, in Rajasthan’s scorching desert and arid landscape. Raikas such as Nathuram ji, a veteran herder, and Bhani Devi, who cares for camels and family, reveal how rising temperatures and shrinking grazing lands are testing both animals and people. Once at the heart of desert life, camels now face declining numbers, while their keepers wrestle with survival under harsher climates. Through their lives, the film captures the intimate bond between the Raikas and their livestock, and the resilience needed to sustain culture and livelihood against the twin pressures of modernity and a warming world. The film is timely as the United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. This video was produced with the support of the Video Reporting Opportunity 2025 — a joint initiative of Mongabay-India and All Living Things Environmental Film Festival.