KARACHI – Around Siddiqui, factory machines roared as her vision blurred and her heart began to pound.
The garment factory on Karachi’s outskirts was stifling. The crowded room was filled with workers drenched in sweat and massive industrial machines radiating heat. Humidity from the summer monsoon made the air feel heavy and difficult to breathe.
Siddiqui, whom The Associated Press is identifying only by her surname because she fears retaliation from her employer, felt as though she were suffocating. Worried colleagues called for her supervisor.
“The supervisor said, ‘Just complete this work,’” Siddiqui, 28, told The Associated Press. “Suddenly darkness came before my eyes.”
Overcome by the heat, she collapsed.
Extreme heat, worsened by climate change, is making factory work increasingly dangerous in Pakistan. The factories produce everything from blue jeans to homeware for global companies that have promised to safeguard workers. Yet experts and labor rights advocates say those commitments are falling short as rising temperatures take a toll on workers’ health and safety.
The AP interviewed more than a dozen workers in Karachi, each of whom described sweltering workplaces, a lack of heat-safety procedures and health problems that included fainting. They agreed to speak only if their identities were protected because they feared retaliation from employers. All but one said they lost wages after heat-related illness forced them to miss work. Ten of those interviewed made products for global brands sold in the United States and Europe.
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This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
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Workers are exposed to scorching conditions inside factories
For workers like Siddiqui, extreme heat — defined as temperatures of at least 32.2 C (90 F) combined with high humidity — is more than a workplace hazard.
She lives with her six children in a small room on Karachi’s outskirts without air conditioning. During heat waves, temperatures there routinely rise above 37.8 C (100 F).
The garment factory where she stitches clothing for Spanish brands including Zara and Mango is even hotter. Large machines pump additional heat into the room. Workers told AP that fans are often broken or too small, while windows are narrow, positioned high on the walls or kept closed to prevent theft — conditions that further trap the heat.
“Smoke, heat, you face it,” said a 34-year-old male factory worker.
Health issues and lost wages are common
Extreme heat can be a silent killer, producing few visible symptoms even as it causes serious internal damage or worsens conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma. Studies have linked heat exposure to dehydration, heatstroke, organ failure and death.
“The longer you work in the heat, the less that you’re protected from it and the health risks rise,” said Andreas Flouris, founder of FAME Lab, which studies heat’s effects on health.
The number of people exposed to extreme heat is rising exponentially as the climate changes. The World Health Organization identifies heat stress as a leading cause of weather-related deaths. Research by World Weather Attribution has also found that climate change has sharply increased the frequency, intensity and dangers of extreme heat waves in Pakistan.
Workers interviewed by AP reported temporary muscle paralysis, swollen limbs, fluctuations in blood pressure, breathing difficulties, blurred vision and exhaustion that became most severe during the hottest months. One worker displayed scaly rashes on her arms caused by repeated chemical exposure and said the pain intensified during summer.
All said they’d seen co-workers faint from the heat. Several said they’d fainted themselves, some multiple times. Those who fainted were often only offered a short break or sugary drink before being told to resume work.
They said complaining to supervisors led to no changes.
Only one worker had paid sick leave. The rest told AP that missed hours — even from fainting on the job or from heat-related illnesses — meant slashed wages.
Siddiqui wept on the floor of her home as she described fainting and being sent to the hospital. Earning 15,000 Pakistani rupees ($54) a month, the hospital visit cost, which her employer refused to pay, left her unable to buy food for her children.
“Sometimes they eat one meal, sometimes they don’t eat a meal,” she said, adding that the younger children sometimes cry from hunger. “The older ones have gotten used to it.”
Solutions exist but are often absent
There are simple, scalable and economically feasible measures factories can take to protect their workers from extreme heat, including accurately measuring temperature and humidity inside workplaces, providing cold drinking water and allowing workers breaks, said Flouris.
Other solutions include installing barriers to block radiant heat from machinery, installing quality ventilation and cooling systems and painting rooftops white to deflect sunlight.
“We’re talking about some very simple strategies,” he said.
Factory workers told AP that almost none of these measures were taken in their workplaces.
Several workers said their factories’ metal roofs make the summer heat unbearable, yet they receive no extra water or breaks.
All the workers said there were no heat sensors installed. Only one worker said a ventilation system was installed at their workplace, but that it was only turned on when auditors visited the factory for inspection. The workers said water was provided by their employers, but that it was rarely cold and they weren’t sure if it was clean.
“Sometimes it smells like dead rats,” said the 34-year-old male worker.
Companies pledge protection but enforcement is scarce
Pakistan has national and provincial laws as well as constitutional protections meant to shield workers from such conditions, said Farhan Haider, a program manager at the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research in Karachi.
Some companies supplied by the factories, including Inditex—Zara’s parent company— and Mango have signed legally binding agreements to protect workers or have their own company safety pledges.
The most concrete is the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, which in 2025 announced it would treat heat as a workplace safety risk and develop heat stress protocols, which are under review but not yet in effect.
Representatives from the Pakistan Accord, a country-specific safety program that operates as an extension of the broader International Accord, did not reply to a request for interview or comment.
Brands have a responsibility to ensure their suppliers are held accountable for worker safety, including extreme heat, said Cara Schulte, a researcher at Climate Rights International who published a report in 2025 about worker conditions in Pakistan.
In an email to AP, a spokesperson from Inditex said the company is strengthening efforts to address heat stress in its supply chain through updated factory audits, guidance and training for suppliers and collaboration with industry initiatives. A spokesperson for Mango called worker health and safety a “non-negotiable priority,” citing their supplier code of conduct, which was “strengthened this year to explicitly address extreme temperatures and heat stress.”
A government spokesperson for Sindh province, where Karachi is located, acknowledged implementation remains an issue.
“The government is making efforts to enforce these regulations, but given the province’s vast size and the presence of numerous industrial zones, complaints are inevitable,” said Sadia Javed, who is also a member of the Provincial Assembly.
For workers like Siddiqui, complaints remain ignored as temperatures continue to rise.
“If you feel too unwell, (supervisors) say, ‘This is an everyday problem. Women cry and complain a lot, but the work still must be done,”’ she said.
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Associated Press video journalist Muhammad Farooq, reporter Adil Jawad and freelance journalist Pernia Mubashir contributed to this story. AP reporter Anton L. Delgado contributed to this report from Bangkok.
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