[Articles] Physical effort during labour and behavioural adaptations in response to heat stress among subsistence farmers in Burkina Faso: a gender-specific longitudinal observational study

Heat stress significantly reduces the physical effort during labour. Self-employed subsistence farmers appear to adapt to heat stress by lowering labour intensity, redistributing tasks throughout the day, and shifting work to cooler months. As climate change worsens, these adaptations could become inadequate. Women, who often balance household chores and fieldwork, have limited pacing strategies, heightening their vulnerability to increasing heat stress. Our findings highlight the urgent need for targeted adaptation strategies to sustain physical effort during labour and protect vulnerable groups, especially women, from escalating heat stress.