“These Workers Toiling in 120-Degree Heat Are on Front Lines of Climate Change”

…Temperatures in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean region where Gulf states sit have risen almost twice as fast as the global average every decade since 1981…

In Kuwait, already one of the world’s hottest countries, the speed of the temperature rise means tough conditions are quickly becoming unbearable…

Millions of migrant workers in the Gulf, many of whom make a living outdoors—sweeping the streets, delivering food or working in construction—are among the people most immediately exposed to global warming…

…Labor-rights activists say the unequal power dynamic leaves migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation, unable to demand time off for fear of losing their visa and also reliant on a daily-wage income…

…A growing body of scientific research shows that major organ damage from heat is due in part to muscle tissues breaking down as the heart pumps blood away from vital organs toward the skin where it can cool off.

…Spokespeople for Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower, which put in place the midday ban, and the Ministry of Health didn’t respond to requests for comment…

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