Global warming is curbing workers' productivity, WHO says

A warming planet is weighing on workers’ health and productivity, according to a report highlighting the economic risks of climate change.

As the frequency and intensity of heat waves increase, workers face a growing risk of heatstroke, dehydration, kidney disfunction and other effects, the joint study by the World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization found.

Last year was the hottest on record, according to the WMO, and daytime temperatures of 40C (104F) and even 50C are becoming more common. The heat, in turn, is curbing workers’ productivity, which drops by 2% to 3% for every degree above 20C, the research found.

“Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity,” said Ko Barrett, the WMO’s deputy secretary-general.

The threats aren’t confined to countries located close to the equator. Almost half of the global population now suffers from the adverse consequences of global warming, with those doing manual labor outdoors in industries like construction, agriculture and fisheries the most affected, according to the report.

Central Europe is warming up twice as fast as regions like Southeast Asia, the report’s main editor, Andreas Flouris, told Bloomberg News. The scientist said that in his home country of Greece, when temperatures soar to around 39C, workers lose almost half of their productivity, meaning employers are having to pay for two shifts to get the output of one.

Employees tend to work more slowly and make more mistakes when working in high temperatures, Flouris added. While the negative effects of heat on health, society and the economy are well established, this research suggests that the risks are only growing.

A report by the Atlantic Council in 2021 found that the US could lose on average $100 billion annually from “heat-induced lost labor productivity.”

Solutions proposed by the WHO and WMO include changing work hours to limit exposure to the midday sun. This has already been proposed by the British Safety Council, which called on employers to give staff the “chance to come in earlier or stay later” during the UK heat waves this summer.

Flouris said he wouldn’t be surprised to see siesta culture — resting through the midday heat — moving into cooler parts of Europe in the not-too-distant future.