Research – Heat and humidity the worst combination for outdoor work

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The combination of heat and humidity, which makes it difficult and dangerous to work outdoors, causes the loss of 677 billion hours of work per year worldwide, according to a study published today, and expresses fear that global warming is exacerbating the situation.

According to US researchers, who estimate the loss at $ 2.1 trillion a year, the negative effects of this staggering heat on construction workers or day laborers are underestimated.

As the combination of heat and humidity is particularly dangerous because the body can no longer regulate its temperature by sweating, the study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters assesses the number of workers exposed to dangerous levels during the period 2001-2020 as well as and the impact on their productivity, compared to the previous two decades.

The researchers also included in their study results published last year, which estimate that productivity is declining at a lower temperature and less humid than previously estimated.

Thus, between 2001 and 2020, exposure to these high temperatures combined with a high percentage of humidity caused the loss of a total of 677 billion hours of work per year worldwide, for heavy outdoor work, according to the study.

“If outdoor workers lose their productivity at lower temperatures and humidity, then lost work in the tropics could reach 500 to 600 hours per year and per person, which is higher than previously estimated,” he said. study author Luke Parsons, Duke University.

India could already lose 259 billion man-hours a year, China 72 billion and Bangladesh 32 billion.

Over the past four decades, during which there has been a significant rise in temperature, productivity losses associated with stifling heat have increased by at least 9%, according to the study.

The study authors estimate that global warming is already responsible for accelerating the loss of productivity in India or China, and that other wetlands such as the southeastern United States could also be significantly affected.

“These results show that even without reaching +1 ° C overheating, we will suffer the effects of climate change on work and the economy,” said Luke Parsons, warning of an increase in the effects of continued warming. .

Last year, a report in The Lancet magazine estimated that unpaid hours due to high temperatures in general would have risen to almost $ 295 billion by 2020.

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