Workers face an epidemic of heat related injuries

Factory workers are facing an
 epidemic of heat-related injuries.

Workers in fields and factories face an epidemic of heat-related injuries that will devastate their health, income and productivity as climate change takes hold, a major UN report has warned.

Productivity losses alone could rise above $2tn by 2030, as outdoor employees in many regions slow their pace, take longer breaks and shift their work to cooler dusk and dawn hours.

The effects of heat stress brought on by a warming world are already evident among the 4 billion people who live in the tropics and subtropics, says the report, Climate Change and Labour, which was jointly produced by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN Development Programme and the World HealthOrganisation.

In west Africa, the number of very hot days each year has already doubled since the 1960s, with an increase of around 10 sultry days each decade.

Read the Climate Home story - “Heatwaves will hit workers’ health in warming world, warns UN.”