Rice laid out to dry in Dhamrai, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Rice basking in the sun. Rice processing in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, a nation that's never recorded a freezing temperature, rice growing is a year-round affair. But growing an aquatic crop in the dry season—October through March—is complicated, requiring high-yield plant strains and additional irrigation.

Drying the grains is more straightforward, though: As these workers spread rice thinly over a large field, heat from the sun warms it and the surrounding air, creating an arid environment to vaporize moisture within the grains. It's tough, toasty work—and important to boot, given that rice is the staple for the more than 160 million people who live in this South Asian nation.