Pakistan's date workers toil through rising heat

Muhammad Idrees ladles boiled dates from an open flame in Pakistan's Khairpur district, where date workers say summer heat is worsening each year.

Sindh temperatures regularly hit the mid-40s Celsius during the July harvest season, forcing workers into grueling shifts that many describe as increasingly unbearable and dangerous to their health.

Why is the heat getting worse for date workers in Pakistan?

Pakistan is among the world's most climate vulnerable countries despite contributing under one percent of global emissions. Rising temperatures, erratic monsoons and heatwaves are intensifying conditions for outdoor laborers like date pickers in Sindh, who now face longer, hotter days than in previous years, according to workers interviewed by AFP.

Khairpur district produces more than half of Pakistan's dates and supports thousands of farmers and seasonal laborers who depend on the harvest. Idrees, who has worked the date harvest for more than a decade, said the heat has become "unbearable." "It used to be less intense," he told AFP as temperatures hit 42°C. "Now the heat is much harsher and the days are extremely hot. We fall ill because of it."

The country has experienced increasingly frequent heatwaves, erratic monsoon rains and devastating floods in recent years. The catastrophic 2022 floods alone inundated around a third of Pakistan and displaced millions, hitting Sindh province particularly hard.

How do date workers cope with Sindh's summer heat?

Workers descend on the farms around 2:00 am to avoid the worst of the daytime heat, then take a break before continuing until late evening. Even with the split shifts, the physical toll is severe. Multiple workers told AFP they often suffer heatstroke, fainting and fever during the season.

Muhammad Idrees (L) ladles boiled dates from a vat simmering over an open flame, work that labourers lament is getting hotter each year in Pakistan.AFP

"When the heat makes us sick, we go to the doctor for treatment and then return to work," Idrees said. He described the routine plainly: "We harvest the dates, load them onto trolleys and bring them here. They are boiled over the fire and then spread outside in the sun to dry."

How much do Pakistan's date workers earn?

Idrees said the physically demanding work earns him around 1,200 Pakistani rupees, or roughly $4, a day. Pakistan is the world's fifth largest date producer and normally earns more than $120 million a year in exports, according to industry estimates.

The gap between the scale of the industry and the wages paid to its laborers remains stark.

How is climate change affecting Pakistan's date harvest?

Date farmer Shahnawaz Phulpoto, who owns more than 1,500 palm trees, said heavy monsoon rains driven by shifting weather patterns have already hampered date crops and caused financial losses. For now, though, heat remains the dominant challenge on his farm. "The temperature rises every year," he told AFP. "We are seeing the effects of climate change every year."