As the world recorded its hottest year in 2024, Pakistan found itself on the frontlines of a worsening climate crisis. June’s extreme heatwave, which scorched cities across the country, resulted in over 568 confirmed deaths and more than 2,500 cases of heatstroke. Temperatures soared to an unbearable 42°C in Karachi and 44°C in Thatta, Badin, and Sujawal, straining lives, livelihoods, and already overburdened health systems. This crisis brought into sharp focus the disproportionate toll that extreme heat takes— especially on those working outdoors, the elderly, and children.
While extreme heat affects everyone, it does not affect everyone equally. It is becoming increasingly clear that some groups are more vulnerable than others. One such group is women living in low-income urban communities— whose struggles are often overlooked. These women face a cascade of invisible burdens, from serious health risks and economic loss to the rising toll of unpaid care work in increasingly unlivable conditions.
URBAN ARCHITECTURE: A TRAP FOR HEAT AND WOMEN: In Pakistan’s low-income urban neighbourhoods, especially in cities like Karachi or Lahore, poor urban design and social conditions combine to create extreme and often dangerous living environments during heatwaves. Densely packed flats, many with tin or cement roofs, poor insulation, and inadequate ventilation, are unable to disperse heat— causing indoor temperatures to rise significantly above outdoor levels. These homes become virtual ovens, exceeding safe limits for human health.
Women, due to entrenched cultural norms, are often confined indoors for most of the day. Their responsibilities typically include unpaid care work such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and the elderly— tasks that are physically demanding and heat-intensive. Cooking over gas stoves or wood fires in poorly ventilated kitchens significantly increases their heat exposure, compounding the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and even heatstroke.
These challenges are worsened by chronic water shortages, making it difficult to stay hydrated or maintain hygiene. Simultaneously, frequent power outages disable fans and cooling appliances, removing even the most basic forms of relief. The result is not only physical discomfort but also emotional strain, including anxiety, fatigue, and mental burnout. Environmental stress, gendered labor roles, and inadequate infrastructure combine to place an outsized burden on women—whose needs are often invisible in urban planning and climate resilience strategies.
HEAT STRESS: A SILENT THREAT TO WOMEN’S HEALTH: Shazia, a 37-year-old mother of two, shares a two-room flat with her in-laws in the densely populated area of Lyari, Karachi. Expecting her third child, she has been hospitalized twice in the past three months due to vomiting, dehydration, and high blood pressure. According to Shazia, the cramped living space and relentless household chores in this unbearable heat have made her pregnancy extremely difficult.
Pregnant women are especially vulnerable. Studies show that high temperatures are linked to premature births, low birth weights, and shorter gestation periods. In already under-resourced health systems, these complications further strain maternal and child health services. Heatwaves also threaten the stability of temperature-sensitive vaccines, such as those for polio—jeopardizing immunization campaigns. Meanwhile, diseases like malaria and tuberculosis are rising, their spread exacerbated by changing climate patterns.
As Pakistan grapples with the twin pressures of rapid urbanization and climate change, its response must prioritize those most at risk: urban women, whose health, labour, and dignity are on the line with every rising degree.
WHEN THE HEAT STEALS LIVELIHOODS: “When people are too hot to work, they are too poor to rest.” This vicious cycle— of rising temperatures, reduced income, and increased disease vulnerability— is particularly cruel for the urban poor. According to the International Labour Organization, heat stress could cost the global economy 80 million jobs by 2030, amounting to a 6.7 percent GDP loss in low-income regions. In Pakistan, sectors like construction and agriculture— key employers of low-income laborers— are among the worst affected. When temperatures exceed 40°C, productivity can drop by 50 percent, leaving families without income and pushing workers to their physical limits.
WOMEN CARRY THE HEAVIEST BURDEN: Asia, who works as a domestic worker in Karachi’s affluent neighborhoods, starts her day early and finishes around 3 PM, cleaning, cooking, and washing in several households. But her responsibilities don’t end there. After taking a bus home to her rented fourth-floor flat, she must cook, clean, and care for her sick father-in-law and young son.
Women bear the brunt of this crisis— not just as workers but also as unpaid caregivers. In Pakistan, 90 percent of women perform an average of six hours of unpaid care work daily, translating to 180 hours a month. If monetized, this labor would be worth over Rs 27,000 per month. During heatwaves, caregiving demands rise, especially as family members fall ill. Meanwhile, women’s paid working hours drop by up to 19 percent, deepening existing gender inequalities. Despite being essential to household survival, this unpaid labor often goes unrecognized in policy and planning.
A CALL FOR MULTISECTORAL ACTION: Pakistan’s National Adaptation Plan calls for cross-sectoral responses to climate challenges by addressing structural inequalities and integrating gender. Organizations like the Asian Development Bank emphasize the need for gender-responsive frameworks in climate adaptation strategies. Whether it is designing heat-resilient public spaces, improving cooling infrastructure in slums, or integrating gender-sensitive data into urban policies— the solutions must be multidisciplinary and equity-driven.
This year, the government took some preemptive steps to provide relief to those directly exposed to sun and heat. However, women confined to overheated, poorly ventilated spaces remain invisible. From urban planning and public health to social protection and climate adaptation, there is a pressing need to build social awareness and empathy—both among the public and policymakers—to ensure inclusive, gender-sensitive climate responses.
As Pakistan grapples with the twin pressures of rapid urbanization and climate change, its response must prioritize those most at risk: urban women, whose health, labour, and dignity are on the line with every rising degree.
