Record-breaking temperatures are altering workplace conditions worldwide. More than 2.4 billion people—71 percent of the global workforce—experience workplace heat stress. Excessive heat contributes to roughly 22.85 million occupational injuries and about 18,970 fatalities each year. Worker productivity declines approximately 2–3 percent for every degree increase above 20°C wet-bulb globe temperature, which accounts for humidity and other environmental factors. Employers and policymakers need to implement protective measures and adaptation strategies. Certain groups face heightened vulnerability and require targeted attention and interventions as climates continue to warm.
"Without bold coordinated action, heat stress will become one of the most devastating occupational hazards of our time," Joaquim Pintado Nunes, chief of the branch responsible for occupational safety and health at the International Labour Organization (ILO), said during a press briefing.
More than 2.4 billion people around the world - 71 percent of the working population - experience workplace heat stress, according to estimates from the ILO. Each year, 22.85 million occupational injuries and 18,970 fatalities are linked to excessive heat at work. The report also says that worker productivity falls 2-3 percent with every degree increase above 20 degrees Celsius in wet-bulb globe temperature, a measure that takes humidity and other environmental factors into account.
Expect record-breaking temperatures to change the workplace, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned today in a new report. When workers don't have adequate protections from heat stress, their health and productivity suffer.
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