Jamaicans struggle through scorching heat

Jamaica is sweltering through one of its hottest summers on record.

In downtown Kingston, glowing zinc roofs and vendors abandoning stalls before noon are daily reminders that this isn't just another hot summer. With Kingston highs regularly hitting 34-36 degC, and scientists declaring 2024 the hottest year in recorded history, Jamaicans say the heat is reshaping daily life.

"Mi deh pon site from 'bout six. By nine mi body mash up, mi cya even think," Marlon, a 29-year-old construction worker, told THE STAR. "Sun a blaze, mi just sweat, sweat, sweat. Sometime mi seh to miself, 'Boii mi sweat more than di work mi a do.' Even a night time when yuh think it woulda cool down, it hot same way."

He said the heat should be treated as a political issue, not just an inconvenience.

"Government love fi talk 'bout development, but wha 'bout di sun weh a kill we?" he pressed. "Mi cya tek mi vote go cool down mi pickney dem."

At Coronation Market, vendor Beverly said she can barely make it through the day.

"After 12 mi cya manage again. Mi foot dem swell, mi cya stand up long. People nah even stop fi buy nutten, dem just rush in and gone. Mi cya blame dem still, sun wicked."She pointed to her produce wilting under a tarpaulin.

"Mi food spoil fast fast, mi cya keep nuttin long. Ice melt before mi reach home. Everyting mash up quick inna dis heat."

Climate scientists say rising global temperatures are fuelling hotter days and nights across the Caribbean, compounded by Kingston's dense concrete sprawl that traps heat like an oven. The heat follows commuters too, crowding buses and taxis with stifling air. Donovan, who runs the Parade to Half-Way Tree route, said every trip feels like punishment.

"Traffic wicked man. Mi cya even cool down di bus, or else mi gas done quick," he said.

The grind, he explained, was not just about discomfort - it meant higher gas costs, slower trips, and passengers on edge from the stifling heat.

"If mi lock up window, people cuss mi, seh dem a suffocate. Every trip mi shirt soak, mi feel like mi jus run ball game," he said, noting that at times, the heat has become dangerous.

"Mi see passenger get dizzy pon di bus, cya tek di heat. Dem haffi sit down sudden or else dem drop. Is rough pon everybody."

The Climate Studies Group at The University of the West Indies, Mona, has shown Jamaica now experiences nearly twice as many hot days and nights as it did two decades ago. For 64-year-old Myrtle in Rae Town, the difference is in her daily routine.

"Mi wake up wet, mi go a bed wet, sweat sweat whole day. Mi cya even cook pon di stove fi long, mi kitchen turn oven. A pure hot breeze blow. Dis summer serious, mi never feel nutten like it yet."

For household budgets already stretched by high food prices and back-to-school expenses, the extra cost of fans, ice, and spoiled produce is like a hidden tax. Unlike hurricane season, there is no official alert system for extreme heat in Jamaica, leaving ordinary people to fend for themselves with cardboard fans and frozen bottles. The government has, however, urged residents to stay hydrated and avoid outdoor activity in the hottest hours.

Across the Corporate Area, the tactic is the same for all - grab shade wherever it can be found. Men crowd beneath bus stop roofs. Vendors drag stalls into thin strips of shadow cast by tall buildings. Some commuters improvise umbrellas from scraps of cardboard or plastic bags.

"Anywhere mi see likkle shade, mi dive inna it," one commuter in Parade said. "If yuh falla this yah sun yah, it kill yuh."

As the day's high again crept past 35 degC, Myrtle fanned herself with a piece of cardboard and shook her head.

"Mi just wah shade an' likkle breeze. Dem up top can gwaan talk, but down yah a sufferation. Everybody a bawl di same ting. Jamaica always hot but dah heat yah different! If dis a di start, mi nuh waan see di future."