Brickmakers in Pakistan's Sheikhupura district are enduring extreme heat from industrial furnaces and rising outdoor temperatures this summer [1, 2].
The situation highlights the intersection of hazardous industrial labor and climate change, as workers face dual heat threats that jeopardize their health.
In the Punjab province, laborers at traditional brick kilns must constantly monitor fires that reach temperatures over 1,000°C [1]. These workers are tasked with crushing coal into the furnaces, a process that exposes them to direct heat from below while they remain uncovered under the summer sun [1, 2].
Ambient summer temperatures in Pakistan have frequently risen well over 40°C [1]. This environmental heat compounds the intensity of the kiln fires, creating a volatile working environment. The dossier notes that climate change is making these seasonal peaks hotter, worsening conditions that were already considered extreme [1, 2].
Despite the physical toll, the necessity of labor drives the continuation of the work. One unnamed brickmaker said, "Work is work, it has to be done" [1].
The reliance on traditional kiln methods requires this constant human presence to maintain the necessary heat for brick production [1, 2]. Without modernized cooling or automated systems, the workers remain the primary mechanism for regulating the furnace temperature during the hottest months of the year.
“"Work is work, it has to be done."”
The plight of Sheikhupura's brickmakers illustrates the growing vulnerability of manual laborers in South Asia. As climate change pushes ambient temperatures past historical norms, traditional industries that rely on high-heat processes become significantly more dangerous. This trend suggests an urgent need for industrial modernization or revised labor protections to prevent heat-related casualties in the region's construction supply chain.
