A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warns that record-breaking temperatures are becoming the new norm in the workplace and action must be taken to protect workers.
More than 71% of employees, equivalent to over two billion people, currently face workplace heat stress, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), with 18,970 deaths and 22.85 million occupational injuries annually caused by excessive heat at work.
The report calls on lawmakers to introduce policies to protect workers, including longer breaks and adapted uniforms and working environments, and for employers to implement preventative measures such as warning systems for heatwaves.
Climate change is said to be reshaping the world of work, and planet-heating pollution is on the rise.
In related news, a study published in Nature Climate Change has found that just three percent of the world’s population live in areas with conditions that are currently cooler than their “natural” climate, as a result of climate change.
The researchers found that just over three billion people, or 37% of the global population, live in areas that are now warmer than their long-term averages.