{"id":886090,"date":"2026-01-18T18:30:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/18\/employers-need-plans-to-protect-workers-from-rising-heat-stress-un-says\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T18:30:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:30:42","slug":"employers-need-plans-to-protect-workers-from-rising-heat-stress-un-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/18\/employers-need-plans-to-protect-workers-from-rising-heat-stress-un-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Employers need plans to protect workers from rising heat stress, UN says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UN agencies have urged employers, trade unions, local authorities and health experts to team up on creating tailored plans to protect workers from heat stress, as a warming world exposes them to more extreme temperatures, risking death and chronic health impacts.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a report<\/a> released on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said climate change is increasing the temperature of workplaces \u2013 especially outdoors \u2013 and creating conditions that threaten workers\u2019 health and national economies.<\/p>\n

Extreme heat is causing a rise in heat stroke, dehydration and long-term kidney and cardiovascular damage \u2013 especially for manual labourers in physically demanding sectors like agriculture, construction and fisheries, the report found.<\/p>\n

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Record-hot 2024 shows world must adapt to extremes, says EU climate service<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe workers keeping our societies running are paying the highest price,\u201d said R\u00fcdiger Krech, director of climate change and environment at the WHO.<\/p>\n

For every degree above 20C, workers\u2019 productivity is lowered by 2-3%, which can negatively affect individual incomes and national economies, the report said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the International Labour Organization, more than 2.4 billion workers are\u00a0exposed to excessive heat globally, resulting in more than 22.85 million occupational injuries each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity,\u201d WMO\u2019s Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOccupational heat stress has become a global societal challenge, which is no longer confined to countries located close to the Equator \u2013 as highlighted by the recent heatwave in Europe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Climate change-driven heatwaves hit Delhi\u2019s Red Fort market traders<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In mid-July, Spain\u2019s environment ministry said high temperatures in the previous two months caused 1,180 deaths in the country, a sharp jump from the same period last year. Among them was a 51-year-old female street cleaner in Barcelona who died after working a Saturday shift in the middle of a heatwave.<\/p>\n

Her death caused the Mediterranean city to tighten its heat protection protocols for cleaning contractors,<\/a> which will now kick in at a lower temperature threshold of 34C instead of 37C. The measures include hourly water breaks and routes planned to keep workers in the shade as much as possible when the sun is high. At 40C, employees will only work using vehicles during the hottest hours, news agencies reported.<\/p>\n

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A woman works outside in the heat in Dodhara-Chandani, in Nepal (Photo: Mercy Corps, Nepal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A woman works outside in the heat in Dodhara-Chandani, in Nepal (Photo: Mercy Corps, Nepal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Tools on hand to stop \u2018silent killer\u2019<\/h2>\n

The WHO\u2019s Krech told journalists that the UN agencies want the private and public sectors \u201cto co-create tailored plans in your community, enterprise, environment, in your city, in your hospitals, that are practical, affordable, environmentally sustainable \u2013 and of course, effective, and that can be implemented at scale\u201d.<\/p>\n

The WMO\u2019s senior director of services, Johan Stander, referred to earlier reports that the past decade was the hottest on record<\/a>, adding that weather and climate science is available to help businesses and governments improve workplace safety.<\/p>\n

The new report recommends actions and practices that he said should be implemented for everybody.<\/p>\n

They include ensuring workers drink enough liquids and have access to toilets, washrooms, air-conditioning or outdoor cooling spots, as well as employee training to identify the effects of heat stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtreme heat is\u00a0called the silent killer but with today\u2019s science, data and technologies, silence is no longer an excuse,\u201d Stander added.<\/p>\n

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Age of \u201cclimate whiplash\u201d puts residents of Africa\u2019s fast-growing cities in danger<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Workers paying for climate crisis<\/h2>\n

In the report, which draws on five\u00a0decades of research and evidence, governments, employers and health authorities are also advised to design heat-health policies and alerts to help more vulnerable groups such as older people who are less physically fit and people with chronic underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n

The report adds that heat-health advisories should not only address weather conditions but also workplace clothing and the type, intensity and duration of work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new guidance offers practical, evidence-based solutions to protect lives, reduce inequality, and build more resilient workforces in a warming world,\u201d said Jeremy Farrar, WHO assistant director-general for health promotion, disease prevention and care.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Newsom, political lead for Greenpeace International\u2019s \u201cstop drilling, start paying\u201d campaign, said: \u201cGovernments can no longer watch idly as workers\u2019 health and income are degraded due to a climate crisis they hardly contributed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WHO\/WMO report offers solutions to meet the challenge, she added. But, she argued, \u201cit is polluters \u2013 not ordinary people \u2013 who should be financing action through bold taxes on fossil fuel company profits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Vivian Chime
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UN agencies have urged employers, trade unions, local authorities and health experts to team up on creating tailored plans to protect workers from heat stress, as a warming world exposes them to more extreme temperatures, risking death and chronic health impacts.\u00a0 In a report released on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":886091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26095,974],"tags":[9759,5960],"class_list":{"0":"post-886090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-employers","8":"category-plans","9":"tag-employers","10":"tag-plans"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}