7 in 10 workers worldwide exposed to extreme heat risks: Study

Extreme heat linked to climate change threatens more than 70 percent of workers globally, according to a report released Monday by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

More than 2.4 billion of the world’s workers were at risk for some level of exposure to extreme heat based on data from 2020, the most recent year for which data was available. The ILO also found that the percentage is growing, up from about 65 percent of workers in 2000.

This excessive heat causes about 22.87 million occupational injuries a year, according to the ILO, to which it attributes the annual loss of 18,970 lives and just more than 2 million disability-adjusted years of life. The report also links another 26 million cases of chronic kidney disease to work-related heat.

The report also covers health conditions linked to exposure to excessive heat, including ultraviolet radiation exposure and nonmelanoma skin cancer. The ILO estimates about 1.6 billion workers are exposed to UV radiation, while another 1.6 billion are exposed to air pollution, which contributes to 860,000 outdoor workers’ deaths per year.

“Occupational safety and health considerations must become part of our climate change responses – both policies and actions,” Manal Azzi, leader of the occupational safety and health team at the ILO, said in a statement. “Working in safe and healthy environments is recognized as one of the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work. We must deliver on that commitment in relation to climate change, just as in every other aspect of work.”

The data used for the report predates 2023, which saw both the hottest summer on record and was the hottest overall year on record. Last summer, the Biden administration said it would step up enforcement of employers’ heat safety violations, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has yet to issue long-delayed federal heat protections for workers. Two states, Florida and Texas, have passed laws barring local governments from establishing heat protections for workers beyond those at the state level.