Climate Change Is Making Farm Work Far More Dangerous Than It Already Is Esperanza Mendez - Fusion
go to original July 20, 2016

Every morning for a decade, farm worker Ramona Felix arose before dawn, starting her shift before sunrise to get as much of her work done as possible before the sweltering 110 degree weather set in.

Over time she was able to maximize her efficiency, working as quickly as possible to minimize the agony.

“There were days when the heat was unbearable,” said Felix, who suffers from asthma caused by years of pesticide exposure in the fields. “I remember not being able to breathe.”

From May to September, temperatures in the Coachella Valley average between 113 and 118 degrees. Last month, temperatures peaked at 122 degrees - just one degree shy of the area’s all time record - and it may get even hotter. This week, massive heat waves are expected across the nation.

Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the U.S., claiming between 600 and 1,500 lives each summer. The danger is particularly acute in California’s agricultural inland regions like the Coachella Valley and Central Valley, where climate change and drought are producing heat waves that are increasingly severe.

There can be little argument that farm workers are among the most at-risk.

To get involved with improving conditions for farm workers, visit FarmworkerJustice.org

Read the rest at Fusion

Related: Seasonal Farm Workers Pay High Price So We Don’t Have to (The Huffington Post)

Related: Inside the Lives of Farmworkers: Top 5 Lessons I Learned on the Ground (Innovation Trail) Image: Omar Bustamante/Fusion

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