One-third of Dhaka’s rickshaw pullers at extreme heat risk

Abdul Karim often feels dizzy while pulling his rickshaw under the blazing sun on Dhaka’s roads. He is over 50 years old and works more than 10 hours a day. He says his body can no longer tolerate the heat.

Even after short period of cycling, he feels a burning throughout his body. Abdul Karim, on Friday afternoon at Farmgate, Dhaka, was wearing am old punjabi soaked in sweat and clinging to his body.

Abdul Karim said, “As the days go by, the suffering keeps increasing. I have grown old, you see. I can no longer endure the heat.”

Yet he has no alternative. If he does not pull his rickshaw, he earns nothing. That reality forces people like Abdul Karim to confront severe heat risks every day.

A recent study says that rickshaw pullers in Dhaka are already working in temperatures that pose serious health risks to their bodies. Researchers warn that climate change could intensify these risks in the future.

The study, titled “Forecasting Occupational Survivability of Rickshaw Pullers in a Changing Climate with Wearable Data”, appeared in the international journal ACM Journal in December 2025.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Cornell University and several other institutions conducted the research.

For the study, researchers collected real-time data from 100 rickshaw pullers in Dhaka. The participants wore sensor-equipped devices on their arms.

These devices recorded body temperature, heart rate, sweat response and movement patterns. Researchers also gathered data on air temperature, humidity and travel routes.

The average age of the participating rickshaw pullers was 48. On average, they worked 10 hours a day and earned around 6 US dollars daily (equivalent to Tk 737 at the current exchange rate).

Each rickshaw trip lasted an average of 18.9 minutes. Researchers collected data during summer, the monsoon season and winter. Fifty-one participants took part during summer, 28 during the monsoon season and 21 during winter.

Researchers also interviewed 12 rickshaw pullers. The interviews revealed growing concerns about rising temperatures, the increasing hardship of work and uncertainty about the future.

Researchers mainly analysed four physiological indicators — skin temperature, relative cardiac cost, sweat response and the skin’s electrical conductivity.

They used these indicators to assess the level of strain extreme heat places on the bodies of rickshaw pullers.

The study states that, under normal conditions, human skin temperature remains below 35 degrees Celsius. However, when it stays above 35 degrees for a prolonged period, the body’s internal temperature can reach dangerous levels.

As temperature and humidity rise, rickshaw pullers experience higher body temperatures, increased cardiac strain and heavier sweating. Greater speed or longer working hours intensify this pressure further.

Older rickshaw pullers showed comparatively higher cardiac strain, meaning their bodies must work harder to perform the same task.

The research used an international index known as “Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT)”.

This index measures the combined effects of temperature, humidity and solar heat. The study classified a WBGT above 31.1 degrees Celsius as a high heat risk.

Researchers found that between 2023 and 2025, 32 per cent of Dhaka’s rickshaw pullers worked under high heat-risk conditions.

At present, a rickshaw puller spends an average of 11 minutes in temperatures of this intensity, accounting for nearly 64 per cent of a single journey.

According to the researchers, this issue goes beyond merely “feeling hot”; it represents a clear occupational health risk. Rickshaw pullers carry out physically demanding work for long hours on open roads, under direct sunlight and amid severe traffic congestion.

The study not only highlighted health risks but also raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the profession.

Researchers showed that climate change is not merely a future environmental crisis; it is already directly affecting the daily work, health and livelihoods of urban working people.

No precise statistics exist on the number of rickshaw pullers in Dhaka. The Dhaka City Corporation is responsible for issuing rickshaw licences, but it does not hold updated records.

However, a 2019 study by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies estimated that around 1.1 million (11 lakh) rickshaws operate in the city.

Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, told Prothom Alo that rickshaw pullers suffer from dehydration, particularly during the midday heat.

Dhaka lacks proper facilities where they can drink water or use toilets. Referring to another study conducted around three years ago, Sultan Uddin Khan said that high temperatures affect not only the working environment but also the places where rickshaw pullers live.

The 2025 study projected, based on carbon emission scenarios, that the proportion of rickshaw pullers exposed to high heat risk could rise to 37 per cent between 2026 and 2030.

By the end of the century, that figure could increase to as much as 53 per cent.