Geneva, Aug 22 (IANS) The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on Friday urged global action to address the escalating health threats posed by extreme heat to workers worldwide.
The year 2024 marked the hottest one on record, with daytime temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade, even 50 degrees centigrade in some regions, a phenomenon which is becoming increasingly common, according to a comprehensive report and technical guidance jointly released by the WHO and WMO, Xinhua News Agency reported.
“Heat stress is already harming the health and livelihoods of billions of workers, especially in the most vulnerable communities,” said Jeremy Farrar, assistant director-general for health promotion, disease prevention and care at the WHO.
Health risks including heatstroke, dehydration, kidney dysfunction and neurological disorders are undermining the long-term health and economic stability of workers worldwide, said the report, adding that approximately half of the global population have already experienced adverse effects from high temperatures.
Occupational heat stress has become a global challenge, not just confined to countries close to the Equator, as highlighted by the recent heatwave in Europe, said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett. “Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity,” Barrett said.
The guidance outlines a multi-stakeholder approach to mitigate risks, including developing national policies, prioritizing vulnerable groups, as well as fostering collaboration among governments, employers, trade unions and health experts.
Meanwhile, a Barcelona-based climatologist said that the devastating wildfires sweeping across Spain this summer should serve as a warning to the rest of Europe about the rising dangers of climate change.
“This is a warning to countries that have traditionally enjoyed temperate, cool summers… because these conditions of intense heat will increase in latitude and will reach these countries,” Javier Martin-Vide, climatologist and professor of physical geography at the University of Barcelona, told Xinhua.
According to Thursday’s update from the European Forest Fire Information System, wildfires have scorched 403,171 hectares of land in Spain so far this year. Around 350,000 hectares were destroyed in just the past two weeks, coinciding with a severe heat wave that began in early August.
Martin-Vide emphasised that climate models point to worsening conditions in the coming decades. “Adaptation is key to reducing the risk,” he said, noting that temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in central and northern Europe will pose serious challenges to societies less accustomed to extreme heat.
He called for stronger prevention measures and better landscape management, highlighting the effects of rural depopulation. “The woods are not as clean as in the past, when there were cattle, sheep, goats grazing and eating the vegetation that now acts as the fuel that starts a forest fire,” he explained.
The climatologist urged innovative strategies, including the creation of “mosaic landscapes with forest areas interspersed with cultivated fields,” to make land more defensible against blazes.
–IANS
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