THE HEAT IS ON! - Scorching conditions take toll on St Elizabeth farmers

Fifty-six-year-old Danny Jones has been farming all his life and has seen many summers.

But when The Sunday Gleaner caught up with him as he sat under a tree on the acreage he plants cucumbers in at Top Hill, St Elizabeth, his eyes were weary as he contemplated another hot day while gazing at his crops drying up in the field.

His voice bristled with anger as he cut his eyes at the now-defunct Top Hill Water Shop, where high grass told a story of a project seemingly abandoned.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie officially opened the $8.9-million facility in October 2019 as part of the Government’s drought-mitigation measures.

“It opened once and after the drum dem dry, dem fill back the drum dem, and from that. They full a water right here now. And if I here so and want my hand to wash, I can't get as much water to wash my hand. That's just bad management. Just bad management,” Jones said. “The government dem not doing the right thing to help the people dem. You understand? They need to give wi irrigation water and come off of this stupidness. … You know how much $9 million could have done?”

Several calls by The Sunday Gleaner to Black River Mayor Richard Solomon, who chairs the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, to find out why the water shop is out of commission went unanswered. Messages sent to him also went unanswered up to press time.

Jones worried about his crop where wilted leaves struggled for survival under the heat and humidity, which he said was the worst he has experienced, forcing him to leave his home in Lovers’ Leap in the parish before daybreak.

“Terrible man, terrible. Not even walk you cyah walk inna dem heat here, much less to work. Mi turn on light and come here a morning time and wait till day light out. So by the time mi drive out, mi turn on my light and mi just sit down and wait till mi see day light out,” he said, sharing his routine. “Mi work three hours and come back out of the sun. So mi will come and start work like 5:15 and probably work till 8 or 9 o’clock. ’Cause the sun hot, me have to come out of it.”

The conditions mean his cucumber farm requires more water than usual at the rate of $22,000 for a 4,000-gallon truck of water.

“It very rough, man. Wi need to use extra water and the water very expensive. But we have to use the same amount a water as inna the cooler time, for we cannot afford to buy the [extra] water for use now inna the heat. The water very expensive and hard to get. And the heat a burn off the truss them, it a burn off the fruit … . It just rough, it just rough. It rough, rough, rough, rough, rough. 

“Wi had a thermal breeze last week with the Saharan dust with the heat. So a heat really burn it. And it really a burn off the fruit them also. We can't keep it up. Me just a continue ’cause mi have nothing else to do, and all I know to do is farming. So mi just have to continue so till me figure something out,” said Jones.

Just over four kilometres away in Lititz, 78-year-old Curtis Binns balances on his walking cane as he defies arthritis and doctor’s orders since a surgery nine years ago to continue farming the land he has farmed since he was 15 years old.

“But sometime mi tip off with the stick, but if mi left the stick, this knee here, the left knee will drop mi and mi tumble. So mi have to keep my stick to farm melon, tomato, cucumber, and sweet pepper,” Binns told The Sunday Gleaner.

Arthritic pain notwithstanding, it is the unprecedented heat that is the elderly farmer’s biggest challenge.

“Well, it's terrible for me. Mi plant some melon seedling from last week Tuesday. And they don't grow as high now, too hot. And I get water every day. The seedling didn't come over the grass yet. Not growing because of the heat. They're not dead, you know, because them get the water still, they're not dead,” he said.

Binns said he cannot manage farming in this heat.

“If mi guh out there, is probably like half hour and come back and sit down. Mi have a shed up at top there and mi sorry for the workers out there. It rough. Mi have to drink up mi water and mi have cucumber juice. I never feel hotter than this one here yet,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Heat stress takes spotlight at Sabina Park

The heat impacted cricketers, fans and workers at Sabina Park during the first game of the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) Series between the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Two of the ODIs were rained out, but the first saw searing temperatures resulting in players, including West Indies Captain Shai Hope, being treated for cramps.

“Yeah, it was very hot. That's all. The heat, the field is very heavy. So just moving around is just it's all part of it. You get cramps. We're athletes, we move around. Every time you put your body under certain strain, it just happens. Always tough, but it's something that we have been doing for many years. … Let's just hope that the heat doesn't take out too many players and that we still have a full unit to choose from,” Hope told The Sunday Gleaner.

Also braving the heat to execute their duties at Sabina Park was a contingent of police officers and security guards.

Superintendent Lawrence Ogilvie from the Kingston Central Police Division told The Sunday Gleaner that coping with the working conditions is a key element of their preparation.

“It's important that we continue to encourage them to hydrate as best as possible, because we realize that it's coming to summer months and it is very challenging. Given the nature of our job, our operational functions require us to be out there in the streets. And so, for that reason, we encourage our members as best as possible to keep themselves hydrated. Do not focus too much on the carbonated drinks, but rather on water generally to replenish themselves,” said Ogilvie.

“It's alright so far, you know. But it's the heat, and no shade or nothing really. But otherwise, it's okay so far. I can't complain, because we have to work in the sun to make money. I always drink water, a lot. … This sun different still … . The heat, the heat rate is high, though, different from last year,” a security guard, who did not wish to be named, told The Sunday Gleaner.

Reginald Samuel Martin, also known as ‘Tychicus the Revelator’, is a popular figure at Sabina Park and last Sunday despite the searing temperatures he donned a long-sleeved jacket.

“When the music hits you, you feel no pain. You get it? You know, I don't feel hot because I'm enjoying myself. Notwithstanding that, I do not know, I don't know if I can say this, it is a stupid thing for a tropical climate to be dressing like this. But, this is what our society pays attention to. Right? And to get the attention of the people, so sometimes you have to just come out of your comfort zone. [But] I drink a lot of water. I don't drink alcoholic drinks and I dance a lot, I exercise a lot. But like I said, I dress this way just to get the look, because you have to have something to make them say, ‘Yeah, man. Why the time hotter? What am I doing?’” said Martin.

Health risks soar with temperatures

President of the Medical Association of Jamaica Dr Leslie Meade acknowledged the medical risks associated with the excessive heat.

“So if you're elderly with underlying conditions, such as your NCDs (non-communicable diseases), your heart disease, your hypertension, your diabetes, your asthma, what we call COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – all of those persons are at risk. Our pregnant women, as usual, would be, and our young. And also, if it is that you have men and women out there in construction, where they’re exposed to these hot environments for prolonged periods, then they, too, are at increased risk,” he said.

He said dehydration can cause cramps and other issues.

“Some persons can even faint because of the heat. And then you have the heat stress, and also heat stroke. So you have varying risks that you can have from the direct increased temperatures. And heat stroke, for example, is a health emergency, because the person can become confused, they can have seizures, have loss of consciousness, and stuff like that. So it is a real danger. And for those of us who may have chronic medical problems, then we are at increased risk as well,” he said.

Meade warned that extreme heat can pose serious health risks, particularly for people with underlying conditions such as hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, increasing their likelihood of suffering heart attacks or strokes. He noted that the recent influx of Saharan dust has compounded those risks, especially for asthmatics.

“When you’re dehydrated, it can also put our kidneys at increased stress because we are not producing enough urine, and that can also lead to damage to our kidneys as well,” Meade told The Sunday Gleaner.

He urged Jamaicans to drink at least two litres of water daily to stay hydrated, use dark curtains to reduce heat from direct sunlight, and, for those who work outdoors, wear wide-brimmed hats and sunscreen to protect against prolonged sun exposure.

Meteorologist Romayne Robinson said forecasts indicate that Jamaica is likely to experience a slightly warmer-than-normal heat season in 2026, with above-average temperatures expected across much of the island.

“One of the methods of arriving at this forecast is the tracking of the El Niño oscillation across the central Pacific Ocean,” Robinson explained.

He said the outlook is partly based on the development of El Niño conditions, reflected in above-average sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. While El Niño typically results in cooler sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean and stronger upper-level winds, it can also suppress tropical cyclone formation across the Atlantic and Caribbean.

“The reduced cyclone development can also produce drier-than-typical conditions over the Caribbean and Jamaica,” Robinson noted.

According to the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, the heat season runs from April to November and encompasses the warmest period in the island’s annual climate cycle.

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com