Millions of daily wagers in Pakistan, especially those working outdoors, are severely affected by the ongoing heatwave in the country. In its latest report titled “A Burning Emergency: Extreme heat and right to health in Pakistan,” Amnesty International highlighted the conditions of daily wagers who are exposed to extreme heat in Pakistan, a country which has been hit by several climate-induced disasters in the last two years.
Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world when it comes to the effects of climate changes despite its low contribution to the phenomenon. Amnesty’s report is based on research and interviews with 45 daily wagers in Jacobabad and Lahore during the summers of 2021 and 2022.
Informal workers comprise about 71.7% of the total labor force in Pakistan. Without adequate state protection, they are compelled to work in extreme heat conditions, which is leading to an increasing number of cases of heat stroke. “If we take a break, there is no daily wage… because of poverty, we have to work no matter the weather,” said a tractor driver from Jacobabad in the report. In June 2021, temperatures in Jacobabad had reached as high as 52 degrees Celsius.
Agricultural, construction, and factory workers as well as street vendors are among the worst affected. At least 40 million people in Pakistan, a large number of them daily wagers, do not have access to electricity. Lack of electricity and adequate cooling at home adds to the prolonged heat stress. The report quotes a laborer who says that he struggles to sleep in his house at night and prefers sleeping next to the road to get some breeze from passing vehicles.
A study by World Weather Attribution has estimated that heatwaves led to at least 90 deaths across India and Pakistan in 2022, but the real figure could be much higher. In 2015, the Karachi Heatwave Management Plan recorded at least 1,200 people dying due to heat strokes.
