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The WHO–WMO joint report (2025), Climate Change and Workplace Heat Stress, warns that rising global temperatures are creating an unprecedented occupational health and productivity crisis. The year 2024 was the warmest on record, with global average temperatures 1.45°C above pre-industrial levels, and the decade 2015–2024 being the hottest ever recorded.

Key Findings

• Productivity Losses: Each 1°C rise in Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) above 20°C reduces global worker productivity by 2–3%. Sun exposure further raises WBGT by 2–3°C, amplifying risk.
• Scale of Exposure: Over 2.4 billion workers are directly exposed; annually, 22.85 million injuries, 18,970 deaths, and 2.09 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are linked to workplace heat stress (ILO estimates).
• Geographical Hotspots: South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East face the highest risks. Heat stress now affects 30% of the global population seasonally or daily.
• Health Impacts: More than one-third of workers in hot conditions report physiological heat strain (hyperthermia, kidney dysfunction, dehydration, neurological problems). WHO safety guidance (1969) recommends that core body temperature during an 8-hour shift not exceed 38°C, a threshold increasingly breached.
• Climate Change Dimension: Daytime peaks of 40–50°C are becoming frequent even outside the tropics. Europe’s 2023 heatwave saw worker fatalities, showing that occupational heat stress is no longer limited to equatorial regions.

India’s Experience

In India, informal workers in brick kilns, construction, agriculture, and power looms are the most affected. Many begin work before sunrise to avoid peak heat, yet still suffer dehydration, dizziness, and lost wages as work hours shrink. Indoor workplaces with poor ventilation often become “furnaces,” leading to chronic fatigue, kidney strain, and even fatalities. By 2030, the ILO projects India could lose 34 million full-time equivalent jobs, particularly in agriculture and construction, due to heat stress.

Wider Implications

• Public Health Burden – Rising cases of heat stroke, cardiovascular collapse, and chronic kidney disease (26.2 million cases in 2020 alone) strain already weak health systems.
• Economic Losses – Developing economies face shrinking GDP as productivity drops; agriculture and construction are most vulnerable.
• Social Inequality – The poor, migrant labourers, and women are disproportionately at risk due to unsafe working conditions and lack of social protection.
• Climate Justice – Regions contributing least to emissions, like Bangladesh and Sub-Saharan Africa, suffer the harshest effects, deepening global inequities.
• Food Security – Agricultural labour productivity loss disrupts crop cycles and threatens farmer incomes, worsening hunger and malnutrition.
• Legal Burden – Rising occupational illness cases risk overwhelming compensation systems and highlight gaps in labour safety laws.

Adaptation Strategies

• Occupational Heat Action Plans: Early warning systems, rescheduling work timings, shaded shelters, and worker training.Example: The Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan (India) has reduced heatwave mortality through alerts, shelters, and training.
• Infrastructure & Technology: Cooling shelters, hydration points, and mechanisation to reduce manual strain.Example: Bangladesh’s garment sector has piloted low-cost ventilation and cooling fans, lowering worker fatigue.
• Labour Policy Reforms: Enforcing heat-index-based work-hour rules, mandatory rest breaks, and compensation for heat-linked illnesses.Example: Qatar bans outdoor work between 10 am–3:30 pm during peak summer.
• Public Health Measures: Hydration protocols, health screenings, and recognition of heat stress as an occupational disease.Example: US OSHA’s “Water–Rest–Shade” campaigninstitutionalises hydration and rest breaks.
• Global & National Coordination: Mainstreaming heat stress into ILO conventions, COP climate talks, and SDG frameworks, with climate finance support for vulnerable economies.Example: Australia integrates climate projections into mining and agriculture workplace safety standards.