The summer season is hot in Pakistan. Everybody complains. Well, maybe those who complain the least are those who are bound to work under the open sky the whole day, in sun, rain and overcast weather, in heat or cold, in winter as well as in summer.
Farm workers are particularly exposed to the elements. All their work is out in the open; a woman planting or a man herding cattle, children weeding or running errands.
A tractor driver may have an aluminum or canvas shade over him, but the heat from the engine adds to the heat from the sun.
A man who makes chapattis on the tandoori oven already feels the heat, but in summer, his workplace becomes almost unbearable.
“There is nothing one can do about the heat in summer,” a construction worker in Islamabad says. “I am from Bhakkar near D.I. Khan so I am used to heat,” he adds. The lorry driver who brings a truckload of bricks agrees.
“I try to load and off-load in the early morning or at night, but often that is not possible.”
A young man from Kashmir, Muhammad Hashmat, who is an auditor trainee and sits in an office, says that he could not have taken the heat that so many people are exposed to.
“I feel sorry for people who have to work in the heat. “In Kashmir, it is a bit better,” he adds. “You can at least cool down at night.”Siddiq Khaplui is a Master’s student at the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) in Islamabad.
He says that it is certainly hot in the city, but then he doesn’t think too much about it because he will soon go to his mountain village high above Skardu in Baltistan. “There it is always cool,” he says.
“This summer, I will guide three groups of tourists on treks in the mountains. There one needs full winter outfits if the weather gets bad,” Siddiq says.
“But it is a fantastic experience for Pakistanis and foreigners alike to hike in the Himalayan Mountains, on the roof of the world,” he says. “But before that, I have to sit for another exam in English language at Numl.”
In Faisal Market in Islamabad’s F-7 sector there is an outdoor car repair and spray paint workshop, and nearby, a motorcycle a bicycle repair place. The only shade comes from some old trees.
“My car is old, it is a veteran car, a Toyota Corolla from 1971, and it needs frequent repairs,” says Pervez Khan, a retired Air Force Officer. “The mechanics here don’t have much protection against the scourges of the sun,” Pervez says.
“Yet, their work is as good as that in the larger workshops. I think they know their work very well from long experience. They can cut a few corners to make it cheaper, and they can improvise if they don’t find spare parts. An old car needs a lot of maintenance but there is a limit to how much one would like to pay.”
“Perhaps I would not have liked the breaks of an airplane to be fixed by a mechanic under the sky,” the retired military pilot says.
“But then, a car is not such a complicated machine after all, although the car makers may want us to believe otherwise.”
“The tool shed here is an old Volkswagen Mini Bus from the 1960s. It has been stranded for many years and converted into its new function long ago.”
“Many older customers look at my old Volkswagen Mini bus from the 1960s with nostalgic eyes,” the mechanic says.
“Now, it is just a tool shed but was once a prestigious and practical vehicle.”
“In the evening, when the sun is down, we will spray paint the yellow taxi there,” he says and points to the vehicle behind the VW bus.
“When we are through with it, the taxi will look almost like a new car,” he adds with pride. And, he is even more proud of his 1974 Toyota Corolla car, recently painted in a light blue colour.
“Is three years younger than that of Pilot Pervez Khan,” he adds.
A delivery van passes by and stops outside one of the utility stores. It is time to deliver soft drinks, water containers, yoghurt packets and other items that are needed to quench the summer heat.
“For us who work as turn boys and sidemen, the heat is certainly noticeable,” Ahmad says, a young lad who has come from his home village in Haripur for a job over the school holidays. “I quite like outdoor work and moving around in the city even if it is hot. School work sometimes gets boring,” he says.
Dr Mohammad Arif in Layla Market in the F-7 Sector says that the summer heat has it challenges for young and old.
“Rule number one is to drink enough fluid; several litres a day. For older people, and those who have heart problems, it is important not to stay in the sun or let the body get overheated.”
“Old tricks from before the ACs became common was to have thorough-circulation in the room, or sit in the shade under a tree with the feet in a basin with cold water. We can reintroduce such traditions today since load-shedding is so frequent, and most people cannot afford to run ACs anyway,” Dr Arif says.
“Skin diseases and allergies are common because there is a lot of dust and pollution. Medication may be required, but the most important ‘medicine’ is simply to use clean water and soap. Sadly, many do not have access to clean water,” Dr Arif says.
“Young boys and girls, and older men, too, are often careless, cooling down and swimming in small lakes and rivers, ignoring that the water may be dirty and polluted.”
“In the summer heat, all infections develop and spread faster than in the cooler seasons,” the doctor adds.
“Yet, the summer season has many positive aspects, too. With some little exposure to the sun nobody needs to have shortage of vitamins C and D; they are provided free of charge by the sun beams,” Dr Arif says, sitting in his newly renovated chemistry shop with an examination room at the back. The doors are wide open, the generator hums, producing electricity for light, fans and the refrigerator to keep special medicines cold.