According to a joint study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), a warming planet is placing increased pressure on workers’ health and productivity. This report highlighted the economic risk of climate change to various regions of the world. As the frequency and intensity of heat waves increase, workers face growing risks of heat stroke, dehydration, kidney dysfunction, and other related effects.

Last year was recorded as the hottest, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. Daytime temperatures of 40°C or even 50°C became common, but this extreme heat is reducing workers’ productivity. Their potential to do productive work dropped by 2% to 3% for every degree above 20°C, according to the research. “Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative, but an economic necessity,” said Ko Barrett, the World Meteorological Organisation Deputy Secretary-General.

Climate Change Costs Billions

The threats of climate change are not confined to a few countries located closer to the equator, but almost half of the global population will suffer from the adverse consequences of global warming. The burden will especially fall on those doing manual labour outdoors in industries like construction, agriculture, and fisheries. According to the report, employees tend to work more slowly and make more mistakes when working in high temperatures, said the report’s main editor Andreas Flouris, who also suggested that the risks are constantly growing.

The two organisations came up with solutions that include changing work hours to limit exposure to midday sun. This measure has already been proposed by the British Safety Council, which called on employers to give staff the chance to come in earlier or stay later during the UK heat wave in the summer season.

According to chief editor Flouris, it would not be surprising to see siesta culture—resting through the midday meal—moving into cooler parts of northern Europe in the near future.

Earlier, the Atlantic Council had also reported that in 2021, the US could lose on average $1,000 billion annually from heat-induced lost labour productivity.