Global warming making workplaces dangerous

Millions of people work outside or in uncooled indoor environments every day, writes Professor Tord Kjellstrom, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University’s national centre for epidemiology and population health in The Guardian. People working in construction, agriculture, fishing, forestry or the military often work intensively in direct sun for extended periods. Millions of workers in indoor factories, warehouses and workshops are also exposed to excessive workplace heat. Kjellstrom says as the number and intensity of hot days increase, more and more working people will face even greater challenges to avoid heat stress, particularly the two-thirds of the global population who live in tropical and sub-tropical areas. He says global heating is a serious threat both to workers’ lives and the livelihoods of millions of people and emerging policies on climate must take this into account if we are to have any chance of getting to grips with what is ahead.

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