Documents extreme temperatures 37 results

"This study analyses the impacts of extreme weather events (heatwaves, floods, storms, droughts and cold spells) on occupational health and safety (OSH) across the European Union. It explores regional and sectoral vulnerabilities, examines effects on different worker groups, and elaborates on potential economic costs. The study reviews EU and national policy frameworks, identifies implementation gaps, and offers evidence-based recommendations to strengthen OSH systems in a changing climate. This document was prepared at the request of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL)."

"Humid heat impacts a large portion of the world's population that works outdoors. Previous studies have quantified humid heat impacts on labor productivity by relying on exposure response functions that are based on uncontrolled experiments under a limited range of heat and humidity. Here we use the latest empirical model, based on a wider range of temperatures and humidity, for studying the impact of humid heat and recent climate change on labor productivity. We show that globally, humid heat may currently be associated with over 650 billion hours of annual lost labor (148 million full time equivalent jobs lost), 400 billion hours more than previous estimates. These differences in labor loss estimates are comparable to losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, annual heat-induced labor productivity losses are estimated at 2.1 trillion in 2017 PPP$, and in several countries are equivalent to more than 10% of gross domestic product. Over the last four decades, global heat-related labor losses increased by at least 9% (>60 billion hours annually using the new empirical model) highlighting that relatively small changes in climate (<0.5 °C) can have large impacts on global labor and the economy."

"Global heating is subjecting more of the planet to longer periods of higher heat stress categories commonly employed to determine safe work durations. This study compared predicted worker heat strain and labour capacity for a recent normal climate (1986-2005) and under commonly applied climate scenarios for the 2041-2080 period for selected Australian locations. Recently published heat indices for northern (Darwin, Townsville, and Tom Price) and south-eastern coastal and inland Australia locations (Griffith, Port Macquarie, and Clare) under four projected climate scenarios, comprising two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and two time periods, 2041-2060 and 2061-2080, were used. Safe work durations, before the threshold for core temperature (38.0 °C) or sweat loss (5% body mass) are attained, were then estimated for each scenario using the predicted heat strain model (ISO7933). The modelled time to threshold core temperature varied with location, climate scenario, and metabolic rate. Relative to the baseline (1986-2005), safe work durations (labour capacity) were reduced by >50% in Port Macquarie and Griffith and by 20-50% in northern Australia. Reaching the sweat loss limit restricted safe work durations in Clare and Griffith. Projected future climatic conditions will adversely impact the predicted heat strain and labour capacity of outdoor workers in Australia. Risk management strategies must adapt to warming conditions to protect outdoor workers from the deleterious effects of heat."

"Background:
With climate change, mean annual air temperatures are getting hotter and extreme weather events will become more and more common in most parts of the world.
Objectives:
As part of the EU funded project HEAT-SHIELD we conducted a systematic review to summarize the epidemiological evidence of the effects of global warming-related heat exposure on workers' health and productivity.
Methods:
Three separate searches, focused, respectively, on: i) heat-related illness (HRI), cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases; ii) traumatic injuries; and iii) vector-borne diseases or vectors distribution, were conducted in PubMed. EMBASE was also consulted to retrieve relevant studies focused on the health effects of climate change. A fourth search strategy to assess the effects on work productivity was conducted both in PubMed and in the SCOPUS database.
Results:
A significant proportion of studies reported findings regarding the Mesoamerican nephropathy issue. This is a disease occurring especially among young and middle-aged male sugarcane workers, without conventional risk factors for chronic kidney disease. For injuries, there is a reversed U-shaped exposure-response relationship between Tmax and overall daily injury claims. Outdoor workers are at increased risk of vector-borne infectious diseases, as a positive correlation between higher air temperatures and current or future expansion of the habitat of vectors is being observed. As for productivity, agriculture and construction are the most studied sectors; a day with temperatures exceeding 32°C can reduce daily labour supply in exposed sectors by up to 14%.
Conclusions:
The present findings should inform development of further research and related health policies in the EU and beyond with regard to protecting working people from the effects of workplace heat during climate change."

"Heat exposure constitutes a major threat for European workers, with significant impacts on the workers' health and productivity. Climate projections over the next decades show a continuous and accelerated warming over Europe together with longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves on regional and local scales. In this work, we assess the increased risk in future occupational heat stress levels using the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), an index adopted by the International Standards Organization as regulatory index to measure the heat exposure of working people. Our results show that, in large parts of Europe, future heat exposure will indeed exceed critical levels for physically active humans far more often than in today's climate, and labour productivity might be largely reduced in southern Europe. European industries should adapt to the projected changes to prevent major consequences for the workers' health and to preserve economic productivity."

"Climate change will impact work health and safety conditions at an unprecedented scale, and the effects are already being felt. The most significant consequences are for workers labouring in higher temperatures and heatwaves. Other dangers include increased air pollution, vector-borne diseases and solar ultraviolet radiation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says climate change and WHS ‘needs to top our list of global priorities', requiring national planning and action to ensure successful workplace adaptation to limit injuries and deaths. If this is correct, why is so little happening in Australia to plan for these current and emerging issues? This article considers the findings of key ILO and Australian Government reports and initiatives in 2023 and 2024 to assess what action experts argue is needed and how Australia stacks up."

"Rising temperatures and extreme weather events present challenges for the world of work and the regulation of occupational health and safety (OHS) and increases the need for risk assessment and OHS control and prevention measures. These challenges are an important consideration in climate change adaptation. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the relevant statutory rights, duties and standards, with an emphasis on working hours and OHS measures for the prevention and control of occupational injuries, diseases and illnesses linked to increased temperatures and extreme weather. In addition, social security provisions, including workers' compensation and income protection, are considered. The report identifies legislative changes already in progress, and proposes an action plan for strengthening OHS protection for workers, with priority given to immediate actionable steps, while identifying longer-term areas for development and incorporation into legislation, regulations, and programmes to address the impact of climate change and promote a just transition. (Other labour law mechanisms for planning and implementing a just transition are addressed in Optimising labour law for a just transition) "

"The new EUROGIP report looks at legislation and preventive action taken in the event of hot work or heatwaves in a number of countries:
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Worldwide: Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, South Africa, the Gulf States, China, Japan and South Korea.
The increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves linked to global warming can have serious, even fatal, health consequences for workers. Protecting their health and safety is therefore a major challenge.
EUROGIP offers an overview of the various measures (legislation, collective agreements, tools, campaigns, etc.) adopted in the countries studied to meet this challenge. The first question asked is whether there is a maximum working temperature.
This report focuses in particular on jobs carried out outdoors and therefore particularly affected by heat waves."

"Climate change is already having a measurable impact on labour forces across the globe, with far reaching implications for economic growth, in addition to worker health, firm profitability, poverty and inequality, food security and more. This study quantifies the impacts of heat stress on the UK labour force, focusing on labour supply, labour productivity, the health of workers, and the extent to which, and how, adaptation and adaptive capacity are reducing the negative impacts of extreme heat.
The authors collected data during the UK summer of 2024, just after a period of anomalous heat, surveying over 2,000 people in the labour force, when their recollection of the heat episode was fresh in their minds. The results clearly show that workers do perceive their health to be harmed by heat stress, and workers and employers rely on a wide range of adaptation measures to protect their health and productivity that are at least partially effective."

"Background:
Firefighters regularly re-enter fire scenes during long duration emergency events with limited rest between work bouts. It is unclear whether this practice is impacting on the safety of firefighters.
Objectives:
To evaluate the effects of multiple work bouts on firefighter physiology, strength, and cognitive performance when working in the heat.
Methods:
Seventy-seven urban firefighters completed two 20-minute simulated search and rescue tasks in a heat chamber (105?±?5°C), separated by a 10-minute passive recovery. Core and skin temperature, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal sensation (TS), grip strength, and cognitive changes between simulations were evaluated.
Results:
Significant increases in core temperature and perceptual responses along with declines in strength were observed following the second simulation. No differences for other measures were observed.
Conclusions:
A significant increase in thermal strain was observed when firefighters re-entered a hot working environment. We recommend that longer recovery periods or active cooling methods be employed prior to re-entry."