On a densely populated island near Karachi, Pakistan, a group of pregnant women endure a severe heatwave while awaiting the arrival of the island’s sole midwife, Neha Mankani. Each week, Mankani travels by boat ambulance to Baba Island, an old fishing settlement that is reportedly one of the world’s most crowded, with around 6,500 people squeezed into just 0.15 square kilometers (0.06 square miles).
The island faces escalating challenges due to climate change, which is raising sea levels and intensifying temperatures. Before Mankani’s boat ambulance began operating last year, expectant mothers had to navigate extreme conditions and logistical hurdles to receive medical care.
Zainab Bibi, a 26-year-old who is pregnant again after a miscarriage last summer, recalls the difficulties she faced. “It was a very hot day, I was not feeling well,” she said. Her husband struggled for hours to find a boat willing to take them to the mainland, but by the time they arrived, it was too late.
