12-07-2025
When It's This Hot, ‘We Are Enduring, Not Living'
It's just 8 a.m., and the sun is already punishing. Shahbaz Ali, a 32-year-old ride-hailing motorcycle driver, is drenched in sweat before his day has even begun.
Sleep deprived from regular power outages in the hot weather, he heads off into the choking traffic of Karachi, Pakistan's main port city, for nearly 12 hours of work. By midday, temperatures can exceed 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), with high humidity along the Arabian Sea pushing the heat index past 115.
'It feels like living in a furnace,' Mr. Ali said one day last month, steering his motorcycle over uneven roads as I rode on the back. 'But what choice do I have? If I stop working, my family won't eat.'
I spent a day with Mr. Ali to see how he copes in the extreme heat.
Islamabad
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
IRAN
INDIA
Karachi
Arabian Sea
200 miles
By The New York Times
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