According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it is urgent to adopt immediate actions to face the effects of thermal overload on global labor health overload
Increased global temperatures “severely” impacts workers’ health and productivity, warned on Friday (22) which requested the adoption of immediate measures. Extreme heat imposes increasing challenges in the workplace, according to the United Nations health and climate agencies, which published a guide to governments, employers and health authorities to try to mitigate the risks. “It is necessary to act immediately to face the increasingly serious effects that thermal overload has on workers around the world,” they said.
Many workers are usually exposed to hazardous heat conditions, according to the and the World Meteorological Organization (OMM). The two organizations pointed out that the frequency and intensity of extreme heat episodes increased considerably, which increases the risks to outdoor workers, as well as for those in closed environments. Workers from sectors such as agriculture, construction and fishing are particularly affected, agencies added.
WHO and OMM point out that workers productivity registers a drop of between 2% and 3% for each degree above 20 ° C. Health risks include heat blows, dehydration, renal dysfunction and neurological disorders. “Occupational thermal overload has become a social challenge worldwide and not only affects countries near the Ecuador line, as the recent heat wave demonstrated in Europe,” said Ko Barrett, OMM’s deputy secretary general. “Protecting workers from extreme heat is not just an imperative of health, but an economic need,” he added.
The agencies requested action plans against heat at work, adapted to industries and specific regions. The guidelines are based on the findings of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which point out that more than 2.4 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat worldwide, representing 71% of the global active population.
The scenario causes more than 22.85 million work accidents a year and nearly 19,000 deaths. The last technical report and WHO guide on workplace thermal stress had been published in 1969, “when the world was very different in terms of climate change,” according to RUDIGER KRECH, WHO Environment Director. “What has changed was gravity,” he added, recalling the temperature records in the last 10 years. According to scientists, heat waves are increasingly intense and frequent worldwide due to climate change caused by humanity.
*With information from AFP
