Heat’s a danger to farmworkers in Stanislaus, Valley region. Climate change makes it worse

This story is part of a Modesto Bee series on climate change impacts for Stanislaus County.

The heat stress on farmworkers is getting worse as the climate warms in Stanislaus County and other parts of the San Joaquin Valley.

As average temperatures increased and heat waves and drought struck the state, reports of work-related heat illness tripled in California in the past 20 years. Firefighters, police officers and farmworkers suffered the highest rates of illness such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, according to the CalEPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment report last year.

By 2065, global climate change is expected to expose Valley farmworkers to hazardous afternoon temperatures four times as often as today if nothing is done to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

A Fresno-area farmworker died in August after working in triple-digit temperatures amid a hot spell that prompted a hazard alert from Cal/OSHA. Though the Fresno County coroner said the 59-year-old worker died from heart disease, farmworkers are known to perish from heat-related illness 20 times more often than people in other occupations.

In July, the United Farm Workers Foundation called on the Department of Labor and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to establish nationwide heat protection standards for farmworkers. The foundation cited two on-the-job deaths in July: a 29-year-old farmworker in Florida and a 26-year-old worker in Arizona.

“Farmworkers are at the front lines of climate change as extreme heat continues to expose them to more danger,” UFW Foundation Chief Executive Officer Diana Tellefson Torres said in a statement. “We must prevent heat-related deaths and we can do so by establishing a permanent heat standard that provides workers access to shade, paid rest breaks, training and water.”

A blog for the California Climate Agriculture Network last year said farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley could be facing two months of unbearable heat — days with temperatures above 100 degrees — as heat-trapping carbon dioxide keeps warming the planet near the end of the century.

Heat waves already are baking the Valley, with areas around Fresno and Bakersfield recording two dozen to three dozen days at 104 degrees or higher in 2021, while Merced had more than 15 days of that heat.

The UC Merced Community and Labor Research Center conducted a comprehensive survey of farmworkers, concluding that climate change concerns are especially relevant for inland agricultural areas of California including the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys and Imperial Valley. Temperatures in those regions already can exceed 110 degrees.

Projections for California anticipate average maximum daily temperatures will increase 4 to 5 degrees in Stanislaus County and other parts of the San Joaquin Valley by 2050.

A UC Merced researcher said agriculture in inland California may become more like farming in hotter states, such as Arizona, with more emphasis on water conservation, heat-tolerant crops and field work pushed to early in the day or night.

“I don’t think there is concern agriculture will leave the state, but it’s conceivable that we will see a change in work time and crops that are grown,” said Rodrigo Alatriste-Diaz of the Labor Research Center.

The Valley’s warming environment is putting more onus on measures and safety standards designed to protect agricultural workers. The UC Merced survey of 1,242 farmworkers seemed to reveal spotty compliance with California’s current standards.

What the survey revealed

In the study, released last year, 43% of farmworkers said their employer never provided them with a heat illness prevention plan required under California law. One in six workers were not receiving the mandated number of 10-minute breaks for rest.

One in six farmworkers said wildfire smoke made it hard to breathe while on the job, and one-third said respiratory masks were not provided.

Many survey respondents did not find relief from summer heat after daily working hours, as almost 40% had problems keeping their dwellings cool. Those “issues will only increase risk of heat-related illness (for farmworkers) as climate change exacerbates temperature extremes,” the study concluded.

Heat stress is an everyday occurrence for farmworkers, who do physically demanding work in direct sunlight and wear layers of clothing to guard against insects, farm chemicals and sunburn.

The UC Merced study cited a need to elevate health and safety standards for the agricultural workforce. The study also recommended expanded access for farmworkers to the healthcare safety net. Most of these workers, with average income of $43,600 per year, live in communities with few primary care physicians and high rates of poverty and infant mortality.

Many other studies have described poor health outcomes of farmworkers, who may struggle with diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, obesity and psychological stress.

Other conditions are threats to farmworkers

Heat is not the only climate threat for the workers who raise and harvest crops in the Valley. Wildfires, sparked in the dry conditions of prolonged drought, envelope the San Joaquin Valley in smoke, creating dangerous air quality for anyone working outdoors.

In addition, studies suggest that exposure to pesticides will increase for farmworkers with climate change. Farm chemicals lose their effectiveness in warmer temperatures, as the active ingredients are lost as vapor, requiring a heavier application to get the same results.

Climate change also has ties to extreme weather, from extended drought to unusual flooding, which will impact crop production and worsen economic hardship for these workers.

In a report called “Farmworkers at Risk,” the Union of Concerned Scientists said policies to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and pesticides are essential. The 2019 report included recommendations for Congress and federal agencies to guarantee farmworkers’ rights to rest breaks, shade and sufficient water.

The research group, combining science and advocacy, also said the U.S. Department of Agriculture should work with other federal agencies to develop and improve systems that alert farmers and workers to dangerous heat conditions.

Also, federal and state policymakers should take action to combat climate change and achieve deep cuts to heat-trapping emissions that warm the planet, the group said.