An increase in heat stress at work linked to climate change is set to have a massive impact on global productivity and economic losses, notably in agriculture and construction, UN labor experts said on Monday, according to UN News Center.
An increase in heat stress resulting from global warming is projected to lead to global productivity losses equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs in the year 2030, a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) predicted on July1.
Projections based on a global temperature rise of 1.5°C by the end of this century suggest that in 2030, 2.2 percent of total working hours will be lost worldwide because of higher temperatures, said the ILO.
The organization said that is a loss equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs or global economic losses of 2,400 billion U.S. dollars.
The report cautions that its estimate is a conservative one as it assumes that the global mean temperature rise will not exceed 1.5°C.
The new ILO report, entitled Working on a Warmer Planet: the Impact of Heat Stress on Labor Productivity and Decent Work, draws on climate, physiological and employment data and presents estimates of the current and projected productivity losses at national, regional and global levels.
Heat stress refers to heat more than what the body can tolerate without suffering physiological impairment. It generally occurs at temperatures above 35°C, in high humidity.
Excess heat during work is an occupational health risk. It restricts workers' physical functions and capabilities, work capacity and thus, productivity. In extreme cases, it can lead to heatstroke, which can be fatal.
The sector expected to be worst affected globally is agriculture, an area in which 940 million people around the world work.
It is projected to account for 60 percent of global working hours lost due to heat stress by the year 2030.
The construction sector will also be severely impacted, with an estimated 19 percent of global working hours lost by the same date.
Other sectors especially at risk are environmental goods and services, refuse collection, emergency, repair work, transport, tourism, sports, and some forms of industrial work.
The impact will also be unequally distributed around the world.
The regions losing the most working hours are expected to be southern Asia and western Africa, where around 5 percent of working hours are expected to be lost in 2030, corresponding to about 43 million and 9 million jobs, respectively.
Moreover, it will be people in the poorest regions who will suffer the most significant economic losses.
