Rising Temperatures Threaten Date Workers in Pakistan's Sindh Province

Date laborers in Pakistan's Sindh Province are facing increasingly dangerous working conditions as rising temperatures make their daily routines unbearable. In the Khairpur district, which produces more than half of the country's dates, workers such as Muhammad Idrees must begin their shifts around 2am to avoid the peak daytime heat. Despite these early starts, temperatures regularly reach the mid 40s degrees Celsius during the July season, leading to reports of heatstroke, fainting, and fever among the workforce.

The process involves harvesting dates, loading them onto trolleys, boiling them over open flames, and drying them in the sun. Idrees, a veteran of the harvest, earns approximately 1,200 Pakistani rupees, or about 4 US dollars, per day. Date farmer Shahnawaz Phulpoto, who owns over 1,500 palm trees, noted that shifting weather patterns and heavy monsoon rains have also caused financial losses and hampered crops.

Pakistan is the world's fifth largest date producer and typically earns over 120 million US dollars annually from exports. However, the country remains highly vulnerable to climate change, experiencing frequent heatwaves and devastating floods despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.