宁夏位于中国西北的黄土高原之上，属于温带大陆性气候。虽然纬度较高，但是在夏天依然具有干燥炎热的气候特点。同时，黄土地貌注定着大量风蚀现象的出现，常常会有沙暴，风沙等自然灾害。枸杞喜干耐旱，因此可以在宁夏偏盐碱化的黄土地上生长，但是这也为才摘枸杞的杞农带来了不利条件。为了枸杞能够顺利获得足够养分茁壮生长，每一株树苗之间都间隔了一定距离，并预留了杞农采采摘通行的沙土间隙。因此，阳光强烈时，枸杞灌木很难起到吸收热量，阻挡阳光照射到沙土地的作用。上午八点半以后，地面温度就在太阳辐射下迅速升温，往往能够超过40摄氏度。对于杞农来说，没有植被遮盖头顶，同时地面传来高温，需要经历严苛的高温挑战。

阳光带来的风险并不止高温，大量紫外线的存在非常危险。太阳直射下，暴露在衣服之外的皮肤在十几分钟内，就能够造成轻度的晒伤。但杞农往往需要连续工作超过一个小时，才会回到阴凉下短暂休息。在杞农群体对于穿带防晒装备影响采摘效率的顾虑下，鲜少有人愿意穿戴防晒服。不难理解，晒伤成为杞农群体中最普遍的工伤。严重者甚至能够打算到第二，三级晒伤，但往往只经过简单包扎后就再次投入采摘工作。笔者观察到，所有杞农的手掌与小臂都呈现黝黑的颜色（其他一部分原因是枸杞树上的化学物质和汁液），并留下了晒伤之后的痕迹，显得粗糙而布满陈旧的疤痕。

风沙的侵袭亦成为了采摘过程中需要面对的另一风险。一阵轻微的风便能够吹起较小的沙尘颗粒。微型沙尘颗粒（直径<0.2mm）附着能力极差，在低摩擦力的黄土地表极容易被风裹挟，再被风中的人吸入呼吸道中。杞农则需要长时间待在这样的沙尘环境中工作，长此以往，累计吸入一定量的沙尘后，会出现尘肺病，支气管炎等等疾病。有的杞农在工作中往往会选择佩戴丝巾遮住口鼻，保护呼吸道。但也有一些杞农因阻碍呼吸，出汗浸湿纱巾等原因，不愿意佩戴。

Ningxia is located on the Loess Plateau in northwest China and has a temperate continental climate. Despite its high latitude, it still experiences a hot and dry climate in the summer. Additionally, the loess landscape predisposes it to a high occurrence of wind erosion, often leading to sandstorms and other natural disasters. Wolfberries thrive in dry and drought-tolerant conditions, allowing them to grow in the saline-alkaline loess soil of Ningxia. However, this presents unfavorable conditions for wolfberry farmers during harvest. To ensure that wolfberries receive sufficient nutrients for healthy growth, each seedling is spaced apart, leaving gaps of loose soil for farmers to access the berries. Consequently, when the sun is intense, the  wolfberry bushes struggle to absorb heat and block sunlight from reaching the sandy soil. After 8:30 am, the ground temperature rapidly rises under the sun's radiation, often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. For farmers, without vegetation covering their heads and with the ground emitting high temperatures, they face the challenge of extreme heat.

The risks brought by sunlight are not limited to high temperatures; the presence of a significant amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is also dangerous. Exposed skin outside of clothing can experience mild sunburn within a few minutes under direct sunlight. However, wolfberry farmers often work continuously for hours before taking a brief rest in the shade. Due to concerns about the impact of wearing sun-protective gear on picking efficiency, few farmers are willing to wear sun-protective clothing. Therefore, it's not difficult to understand why sunburn is the most common work-related injury among wolfberry farmers. Severe cases can even result in second or third-degree burns, but often after a simple bandage, they return to picking work. We observed that the palms and forearms of all wolfberry farmers have a dark complexion (partly due to the perticides and sap of the wolfberry bushes) and bear the marks of sunburn, appearing rough and covered in old scars.

The invasion of sand and dust is another risk that farmers face during the picking process. Even a slight breeze can lift small particles of dust. Microscopic dust particles (diameter <0.2mm) have poor adhesion and are easily carried by the wind on the low-friction surface of the loess soil, eventually being inhaled by people in the vicinity. Wolfberry farmers have to work in such dusty environments for extended periods. Over time, with the accumulation of inhaled dust, they may develop diseases such as pneumoconiosis and bronchitis. Some farmers choose to wear scarves to cover their mouths and noses, protecting their respiratory system. However, there are also farmers who, due to breathing difficulties and sweating that saturates the scarf, are reluctant to wear them.