. | . |
'Panic' in Bangladesh factories as workers collapse in heatwave by Staff Writers Dhaka (AFP) May 25, 2017 Panic broke out in more than a dozen factories in Bangladesh's capital as hundreds of garment workers fell ill in a heatwave, forcing the plants to close, police said Thursday. Police said 18 factories, which export clothes to Western retailers, had been shut since Wednesday after chaotic scenes saw some 30,000 workers leave in the middle of their shifts. "490 workers became sick (Thursday) and were taken to hospitals. On Wednesday 365 workers fell sick," Shoeb Ahmed, head of Gazipur industrial police, told AFP. Ahmed said some workers lost consciousness in soaring temperatures, leading to others "panicking" and leaving the factories. Mohabbat Ali, a general manager of Shareef General Hospital in Gazipur, said nearly 200 sick workers were treated at his clinic. "They were attacked by a disease called hysteria conversion reaction. We gave them salines and first aid. They were released within an hour," he told AFP. Police and hospital officials said the labourers were malnourished, while a lack of rest owing to rising temperatures and acute power cuts had left them further weakened. "Several of them passed out in the sweltering heat on the factory floors, which then affected other workers. Malnutrition and lack of sleep also contributed to the situation," Ali said. The temperature in Dhaka on Thursday rose to 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), but taking humidity into account it would have felt like 51 degrees Celsius, according to Accuweather.com. A mild heat wave is sweeping the country's central and southern region including Gazipur, according to the meteorological department. "We felt nausea, vomiting and stomach pain after working for a few hours," a female worker told the New Age newspaper. Bangladesh has more than 4,500 garment factories, many of which lack basic ventilation and air coolers, and which employ four million women workers at minimum monthly wages of $68. The industry is notorious for poor workplace safety measures that have lead to a series of disasters in recent years, including the collapse in April 2013 of a nine-storey factory complex in which more than 1,130 people were killed.
Albuquerque (UPI) Feb 14, 2017 A number of songbird species make their living in some of the most precarious places on Earth - deserts. As global warming pushes temperatures higher and extreme heat waves occur more frequently, deserts are becoming even more inhospitable. In a new study, researchers calculated how extreme heat waves affect the risk of death by dehydration faced by five desert songbird species in the ... read more Related Links Weather News at TerraDaily.com
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |