Pakistan’s Trans Community Is Especially Vulnerable to Climate Crises | Global Health NOW

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—On a muggy July night, Shama fell unconscious on the city’s ring road while returning to her apartment after performing a dance at a wedding celebration. The temperature topped 42°C (107°F). Her clothes were soaked in sweat. Her neighbors found her a short time later and rushed her to a nearby hospital. The timely rescue and medical care helped Shama, an emaciated transgender person, recover from severe dehydration. But the threat hasn’t gone away. “Survival in such sizzling heat with scarce resources to cool off seems impossible to me,” laments Shama, who goes by just a first name. “I am continuously experiencing shortness of breath and nausea caused by the humidity and dampness in the small room I share with three roommates. Climate extremes including heat waves and floods affect almost everyone in Pakistan, but people who are transgender suffer disproportionately because of stigma that limits education, work, and housing options, and pushes them to the margins of

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—On a muggy July night, Shama fell unconscious on the city’s ring road while returning to her apartment after performing a dance at a wedding celebration. The temperature topped 42°C (107°F). Her clothes were soaked in sweat. Her neighbors found her a short time later and rushed her to a nearby hospital. The timely rescue and medical care helped Shama, an emaciated transgender person, recover from severe dehydration. But the threat hasn’t gone away. “Survival in such sizzling heat with scarce resources to cool off seems impossible to me,” laments Shama, who goes by just a fir