Millions of workers worldwide are experiencing an increased health risk that is related to rising air temperatures. A 20-year-long study published in the British medical magazine, The Lancet, indicates that globally over 5 million people die annually because of non-optimal temperatures which accounts for 9.43% of all deaths worldwide. The study was conducted between 2000 and 2019 in 750 populated areas in 43 countries, accounting for 46.3% of the world’s population.
Although most temperature-related deaths were triggered by cold temperatures, the study revealed that the cold-related death ratio fell by 0.51% from 2000 to 2019 whereas the heat-related death ratio increased by 0.21%. The study also discovered that temperature-related deaths varied geographically. The highest rate of deaths related to excessive heat was recorded in Eastern Europe while the area where most people die as a result of too low temperatures was sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the phenomenon strikes countries irrespective of their development status.
Meanwhile, another study has disclosed that 37% of all heat-related deaths globally stem from climate change.
As heatwaves are particularly dangerous for people working outdoors, those working in agriculture are particularly vulnerable, according to a survey that focused on this issue in Australia. Other industries where people’s lives are at risk due to increasing temperatures are forestry, fishing, construction, and manufacturing as well as those working within the gas, electricity, and water sectors. Workers who are required to spend long hours in high temperatures can experience heat stress or heat stroke as well as long-term health conditions.
William Martínez, a Nicaraguan researcher specializing in health and safety at work, knows from his own experience that rising temperatures do cost lives. As a child, he worked on a sugarcane plantation in Nicaragua and saw so many male workers dying that his village was renamed from La Isla to La Isla de Viudas (Island of Widows).
“The planet is getting hotter so more people are going to be at risk, which means more people are going to leave the workforce and burden health systems,” Martinez told The Guardian. “The most important thing is to protect workers, and that applies across all industries,” he added.
However, it is not only outdoor workers who are vulnerable. In South-East Asia those employed in urban garment factories are also affected by extreme heat.
“Indoor factories, where people wear protective gear, and where they don’t always have air conditioning – either for economic reasons or for reasons relating to the product – are places where you can easily get heatstroke,” says Jason Lee, a Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.
The situation has become even more serious now that research has determined that by 2100 the air temperature could rise by 4 degrees C in cities around the world if high emissions continue. This is of particular concern as over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas.
Against this background, scientists have warned that “considering the inevitable warming trend in the next decades, the mortality burden associated with heat exposure is predicted to increase substantially”.
