By midday, the iron carousel felt heavier than ever. Sixty-five-year-old Inaam Ali wiped sweat from his face, adjusted the cloth wrapped around his head and paused beneath a tree for shade. Around him, the streets of Karachi shimmered in the heat. School holidays should have meant laughter, crowds and eager children waiting for a ride. Instead, the carousel stood still. The children were indoors, sheltering from the scorching weather, and Ali had not earned a single rupee all morning. For thousands of Karachi's street vendors and daily wage workers, rising temperatures are no longer just an inconvenience. They are becoming a direct threat to survival.
Inaam lives in Musa Colony, in a rented one-room house with his wife and two daughters. His only livelihood comes from operating a children’s carousel ride. He pushes the heavy iron carousel out every day as he walks through streets where the lower-middle and middle classes reside. The paint on the carousel has faded, yet excited children clamber on and off it to enjoy the ride which seats eight children between the ages of two and 10.
At the time of this interview, Karachi was experiencing intense heat, with very high humidity making temperatures feel much hotter than the actual reading. Despite the harsh conditions, visibly exhausted and short of breath, Inaam laboriously drags the carousel through the streets in search of customers.
After stopping beneath a tree to rest, he says the heat had badly affected his business. Even though schools were closed for the holidays, children stayed indoors because of the weather. “Only when children come outside do I make a living,” he says. “I don’t have a son. I married late in life and have two daughters, aged 22 and 20. Feeding a family of four has become nearly impossible in this inflation.” He prayed for cooler weather so children would return to the rides and allow him to earn some money. “I haven’t earned a single rupee since morning,” he says. “After resting here for a while, I’ll head to Tanki Ground in the FC Area. If the weather improves by evening, I may earn something.”
He charges only 10 to 20 rupees per ride and, in favourable weather, can make between 400 and 500 rupees a day. “Karachi’s heat has taken away the livelihoods of many people,” he says. Other ride operators now work only in the evenings, while some do not work at all. Those with better financial resources rest during the hottest hours and only begin working after sunset.
Reflecting on the city’s changing environment, he added that Karachi once had many large shade-giving trees, including neem, peepal, and banyan trees. As the population has grown and high-rise buildings have spread, many of these trees have disappeared. “May God hear the prayers of people like us and bring better weather,” he says, “which is our source of livelihood.”
Inaam is not alone. Shahid Ahmed, a 35-year-old vegetable vendor in Lines Area knows the struggle well. He and his father both sell vegetables from handcarts. Shahid lives with his wife, three children, his parents, and two sisters in his rented home that costs 18,000 rupees a month, including electricity and gas. Every morning they wake up at 4 am. His father buys seasonal vegetables from the wholesale market which are transported home by truck around 8 am or 9 am. The family then sorts the produce before arranging it on their carts and heads out to work around 10 am.
“Selling vegetables in this heat is extremely difficult,” he says. “But when you’re trying to earn a living, you can’t choose the weather.” Recently, his father fell ill from heat exposure and had to be transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. Since his recovery, he no longer travels through neighbourhoods but instead sells onions and potatoes from a fixed location in the evenings. According to Shahid, high temperatures cause many vegetables to spoil quickly. As a result, vendors increasingly stock hardier produce that can survive for several days without deteriorating. He noted that generally women who buy from him prefer to stay indoors in this heat. They buy groceries and vegetables in the evening.
Many fruit and vegetable sellers have adjusted their schedules accordingly, while others have temporarily switched to working for online transport services. To protect themselves from the sun, vendors usually wrap a large cloth around their heads. Access to cold drinking water is rare, and when they happen to find it, they fill bottles for later use. “As temperatures continue to rise, the livelihoods of people who work for daily wages in markets and public spaces are increasingly affected,” he says. Consumers are also adapting by shopping at night or buying several days’ worth of food in a single trip.
Across the city, Almas Shehzad, a woman from Ranchore Line who cooks meals at home and supplies them to offices, says her husband lost his job during the pandemic. To support the family, they started a home-based food business. “I prepare the meals and my husband delivers them,” she says. However, working during the summer has become extremely difficult. In Karachi’s densely populated neighbourhoods, many residential buildings have been subdivided into small apartments and portions. Her own apartment becomes unbearably hot during the day.
“Load-shedding, heat, and other problems cause food to spoil quickly,” she explained. To cope, she prepares dishes that can withstand high temperatures. She added that reduced commercial activity in markets due to the heat has also affected her business.
Rehan Sheikh, who sells children’s clothing from a handcart, says declining foot traffic in markets has forced him to seek alternative work. For now, he has stopped selling clothes and instead works as a motorcycle rider for an online transport service. He leaves home at 4 pm and works until 2 am. He plans to return to his original business once the weather improves.
During the severe heatwave last week, temperatures across Pakistan soared to extreme levels. Upper and central Sindh saw dangerous highs between 47°C and 51.5°C, while Punjab, Islamabad, and the twin cities experienced maximums ranging between 41°C and 46°C. Jacobabad and Shaheed Benazirabad sweltered at 48°C-50°C, Dadu peaked at 51.5°C, and Karachi hit 36°C-40°C with high humidity, pushing the 'feels-like' temperature to roughly 48°C-51°C.
Karachi’s intense heat and unusually high temperatures are severely affecting human life, while birds and animals are also struggling to cope. Public hospitals in Karachi continue to avoid officially attributing deaths to heatwaves, instead following a practice that obscures heat-related fatalities. Hospital records do not explicitly identify deaths as being caused by heatstroke, and no public hospital in Karachi maintains dedicated data on deaths resulting from heatwaves.
Hospital reality
Presently, Civil Hospital receives between 70 and 80 heat-related patients daily, while Jinnah Hospital treats 50 to 60 such patients each day. Lyari Hospital reports 40 to 50 patients daily, Sindh Government Liaquatabad Hospital 30 to 40, Sindh Government Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town 30 to 35, Sindh Government Saudabad Hospital 35 to 45, Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi 20 to 25, and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital 30 to 35 patients per day. Similar numbers are also being reported by private hospitals. Although hospital administrations acknowledge an increase in heat-related illnesses, they do not officially confirm deaths caused by heatstroke. Instead, individuals who die after suffering from extreme heat are often recorded in official documents as having been “dead on arrival.”
Rising temperatures are reshaping livelihoods across Karachi's informal economy. Many daily wage earners have shifted their work to the evening and nighttime hours, while some vendors have temporarily abandoned their handcarts altogether in favour of online transport services. The challenges are compounded by a lack of public shade, access to drinking water and emergency facilities for those working outdoors.
Infrastructure and policy
Laila Raza, a social worker active in Karachi’s informal settlements and associated with urban-planning NGOs, described the city as increasingly overwhelmed by problems. “The city’s infrastructure is in poor condition. Traffic congestion is severe, and Karachi is turning into a concrete jungle,” says Laila. “Tree planting is minimal, and there are virtually no shade structures in markets, on roads, or in public spaces.” She noted that many residents of informal settlements rely on daily wage work, selling vegetables, fruit, clothing, utensils, knives, and other goods. Some sell cold drinks during the summer.
The recent heatwave, she says, has disproportionately affected these workers. Many vendors have shifted their operations to evenings or established themselves at fixed locations along major roads and commercial areas. “Low-income households were already struggling with inflation and economic hardship,” Laila explains. “Now extreme heat has further damaged the livelihoods of cart vendors.” She emphasised the need for large-scale tree planting, particularly of species suited to Karachi’s climate.
Khawaja Jamal Sethi, head of the All Karachi Traders Alliance, estimated that roughly 40 percent of Karachi’s daily wage workforce relies on handcarts and street vending. He says rising temperatures, driven partly by a lack of urban greenery and other environmental factors, have created growing difficulties for these workers. “There are no shade structures in public markets or along major roads, and there are not enough trees to provide shelter,” he says. Facilities offering cold drinking water are also scarce. His major concern is the lack of emergency medical services for people suffering from heat exhaustion, heatstroke, or other heat-related illnesses while working outdoors. “People cannot stop earning simply because the weather is harsh,” he adds.
Many cart vendors now conduct business during the evening and nighttime hours, while fruit and vegetable sellers increasingly prefer fixed locations rather than moving through neighbourhoods. He also pointed out that most daily wage workers are not formally registered, making it difficult to provide them with targeted support. According to Sethi, the government should urgently set up shaded areas, provide access to cold drinking water, and create emergency medical facilities in public spaces. He also called for a public awareness campaign promoting tree planting as a long-term strategy for helping Karachi adapt to rising temperatures.
Climate context
Environmental expert Rafi-ul-Haq says global temperatures are continuing to rise and that Pakistan ranks among the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change. As a result, heatwaves are becoming longer and more intense, while rainfall patterns have become increasingly erratic. According to Rafi, the most dangerous period of the day in Karachi is between 11 am and 4 pm, when direct sunlight is strongest. He suggested practical measures such as coating rooftops with lime or white paint, which can significantly reduce indoor temperatures. He also noted that a single mature neem, acacia (kikar), peepal, or shisham tree can provide cooling comparable to that of an air conditioner.
El Nino is a natural cycle in the Pacific Ocean. Under normal conditions, easterly winds push warm surface waters from the coast of South America toward Australia. During El Niño, those winds weaken, allowing warm water to accumulate near the South American coast. Sea surface temperatures rise by approximately 1–3°C. “El Niño typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts between nine and 12 months,” explains Haq. The 2023–24 El Niño event continued to influence weather patterns into early 2025. It affects Pakistan in three major ways, including more intense heat, prolonged heatwaves, and changes in rainfall patterns. During April through June, temperatures can reach 45–50°C, while nights also remain unusually warm. Climate change has caused hot weather to arrive earlier in the year, while rainfall patterns have become less unpredictable. El Niño functions as a global thermostat. When it shifts into a warmer phase, temperatures in Pakistan rise as well.
As Karachi grows hotter and shade disappears from its streets, the city's informal workforce is being forced to adapt in whatever ways it can. Some vendors now work only after sunset, others have abandoned handcarts altogether, while many continue to endure the punishing heat because they have no alternative source of income. Their struggle reveals how climate change is no longer a distant environmental concern but a daily economic reality for those living on the margins. Until the city invests in shade, water, emergency services and greener public spaces, people like Inaam will continue to push their livelihoods through the heat, hoping each evening brings enough customers to make it home with something to feed their families.