"Summer means suffering: how workers survive intense Gulf heat", 26 Jun 2022

Summer means suffering for anyone working outside, along with risks of dehydration, heat stroke and heart failure, and Gulf countries have banned working outside in the hottest hours of the day.

Last year, a World Health Organization report found the risk of death doubling or tripling on extremely hot days in Kuwait, with a disproportionate effect on non-Kuwaiti men, who make up the bulk of outdoor workers.

Workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are ubiquitous in the oil-rich Gulf countries, providing cheap labour and filling the jobs shunned by citizens in favour of high-paying government positions.

Between June and August, the oil-producing Gulf countries...ban working outside for about 4 hours starting from noon.

Workers return to their dormitories or nestle in any shade they can find. But increasingly, it’s unbearable even in the shade.

Scientists have calculated that even with shade and unlimited drinking water, a healthy adult will die if “wet-bulb” temperatures — which take into account factors such as humidity, wind speed and cloud cover — exceed 35 deg C for 6 hours.