Workers Critical to U.S. Fruit Supplies Face Danger From Extreme Heat

The extreme heat that’s baking huge swaths of the U.S. West is putting the workers that pick America’s fruit and vegetable crops into dangerous and life-threatening conditions.

Temperatures have hit the triple-digits in parts of California, a huge U.S. agricultural hub. And while laborers have always picked everything from blueberries to peaches under the scorching sun, the potential for record-breaking heat over the next several days is magnifying the threat they face.