A significant majority of the world’s workforce is grappling with the detrimental effects of increased temperatures, with over 70 percent facing conditions of excessive heat, a situation that presents a grim reality for workers, especially in manually intensive sectors. This alarming fact was highlighted in a report entitled ‘Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate,’ released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Monday, which outlined a 34.7 percent rise in exposure over two decades, comparing figures from 2020 to those in 2000.
The brunt of this exposure is acutely felt in warm, rural locales, particularly in countries like India, where mysterious surges in chronic kidney disease of unknown causes (CKDu) have emerged, majorly burdening the workforce involved in strenuous manual labor. This detail is part of the observations made by the ILO, referencing studies that have shed light on the health crisis.
With the heatwave conditions sizzling across regions, the Indian Union Ministry of Labour and Employment took preemptive measures last week by circulating advisories aimed at protecting workers employed across various industrial sectors such as factories, mines, and construction sites. This move followed a heatwave alert disseminated by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The advisory included recommendations for state and union territories to secure access to potable water, adapt work schedules to cooler hours, and implement other pertinent measures to shield laborers from the intense heat.
The statistics presented by the ILO are harrowing: excessive heat leads to an estimated 22.85 million occupational injuries, almost 19,000 deaths, and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) annually. These figures originate from the exposure of at least 2.41 billion workers — out of a global workforce tallying 3.4 billion — to extremely hot conditions every year.
As outlined by the ILO, the sheer scale of workers confronted each year with climate-induced hazards is mounting, with a grim forecast for the future. “Billions of workers are exposed every year to hazards exacerbated by climate change, and these figures are only likely to get worse…As climate change hazards evolve and intensify, it will be necessary to re-evaluate existing legislation or create new regulations and guidance,” the ILO stated. The organization underscored the need for added protections for worker populations that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
According to the 2020 estimate, there were around 26.2 million individuals living with chronic kidney disease attributed to occupational heat exposure. Furthermore, approximately 1.6 billion workers are annually exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation, with over 18,960 work-related deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer alone. The report also notes that the same number of outdoor workers face an elevated risk of exposure to air pollution.
The ILO’s comprehensive review reveals that mortality from various occupational hazards surpasses heat-related fatalities, with over 300,000 deaths from pesticide poisoning, more than 860,000 from workplace air pollution, over 18,960 (again from non-melanoma skin cancer due to solar UV radiation), and upwards of 15,170 from parasitic and vector-borne diseases.
Beyond health implications, climate change poses a substantial threat to employment, manifesting in potential job losses, damage to business assets, business interruptions, diminishing labor productivity, and forced migration. The ILO highlighted that nearly 1.2 billion livelihoods, predominantly in the sectors of farming, forestry, and fishing, are dependent on ecosystems jeopardized by climate change.
Those particularly vulnerable to excessive heat include outdoor workers engaged in physically demanding roles and indoor workers in poorly ventilated workplaces lacking regulated temperatures. These occupations are commonly found in agriculture, environmental goods and services, construction, manufacturing, refuse collection, emergency repair work, transport, tourism, and sports. Women, often employed in subsistence agriculture, and men engaged in heavy manual work such as construction and agriculture under hot conditions, are exposed to an array of climate change-related risks, rendering them highly susceptible to its impacts.
