The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Press Conferences , Edited News | ILO
ILO Press Conference: Impacts of climate on occupational safety and health - 22 April 2024
Global warming: excessive heat affects 70 percent of workers – ILO
More than 70 percent of the world's workforce faces potential health risks due to climate change, according to the latest report of the International Labour Organization (ILO), published on Monday. This staggering statistic underscores the pressing need to revamp existing occupational safety and health measures to adequately address the emerging threats posed by climate-related hazards.
“More than 70 per cent of our workers are exposed to excessive heat, at least excessive heat, at one point in their working lives. That's 2.4 billion workers globally,” out of a global workforce of 3,4 billion, said Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO) at the report launch at the United Nations in Geneva.
Entitled “Ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate,” the report states that climate change is already having a serious impact on the safety and health of workers in all regions of the world.
Workers, particularly those in the world's most impoverished regions, face heightened susceptibility to the perils of climate extremes like scorching heatwaves, prolonged droughts, raging wildfires, and devastating hurricanes, according to the ILO.
The share of global workers impacted by climate change hazards has increased by about 5 percentage points, to 70 percent, from 65 percent in the year 2000, the report said.
According to Ms. Azzi, “more than 22 million workers suffering from sicknesses and injuries related to exposure to excessive heat and these can range from injuries in transport, in traffic accidents due to bad night of sleep because it was excessively hot, to construction accidents, injuries, slips and falls related to the exposure to heat.”
The report notes that numerous health conditions in workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney disfunction and mental health conditions. The impact includes the 1.6 billion workers exposed to UV radiation, with more than 18,960 work-related deaths annually from nonmelanoma skin cancer.
“Nearly 20,000 workers are dying yearly because of these injuries in the workplace related to rising temperatures and to exposure to excessive heat, indoor and outdoor heat, and losing millions - over 2 million disability-adjusted years - are lost because of injuries and deaths related to heat,” said ILO’s specialist on occupational safety and health.
With increasing temperatures and higher humidity, more pesticides are used in the agriculture sector. According to the report, there are more than 870 million workers in agriculture that are likely to be exposed to pesticides, with more than 300,000 deaths attributed to pesticide poisoning annually.
“15,000 people die due to parasitic and vector borne diseases exposed to in the workplace,” noted Ms. Azzi. “Obviously, these include a lot of diseases like dengue, rabies and various diseases that are increasing in regions that we never used to see them before. Malaria has even increased and we're seeing it's shown in countries that it never used to be before.”
The ILO expert highlighted that “the key issues we face are not where it's known to be very hot for the longest period where people are very acclimatized. But it's the new regions where heat was never such an issue and has become an issue that we're facing some of the acute injuries that that we're seeing today,” explained Ms. Azzi. “So we do have a list of detailed policy examples, collective bargaining examples, but also awareness raising and training programs that deal with all of the hazards I mentioned from vector borne disease control to air pollution to pesticides.”
Ms. Azzi stressed that all these factors are interlinked and that the right tools need to be in place to measure the impact and to be able to work on recommendations.
A major meeting is planned for 2025 by the ILO with the participation of government, employer and worker representatives to provide policy guidance on climate hazards.
-ends-
STORY: Impacts of climate change on workers - ILO
TRT: 2:34”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 22 April 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley
- Med shot: speakers at the podium during press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO): “More than 70 per cent of our workers are exposed to excessive heat, at least excessive heat, at one point in their working lives. That's 2.4 billion workers globally.”
- Med shot: Photographer taking pictures
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO): “More than 22 million workers suffering from sicknesses and injuries related to exposure to excessive heat and these can range from injuries in transport, in traffic accidents due to bad night of sleep, because it was excessively hot, to construction accidents, injuries, slips and falls related to the exposure to heat.”
- Wide shot: speakers at the podium with journalists in press room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO): “Nearly 20,000 workers are dying yearly because of these injuries in the workplace related to rising temperatures and to exposure to excessive heat, indoor and outdoor heat, and losing millions - over 2 million disability-adjusted years - are lost because of injuries and deaths related to heat.”
- Med shot: Zoom operators behind window in control room
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO): “15,000 people die due to parasitic and vector borne diseases exposed to in the workplace. Obviously, these include a lot of diseases like dengue, rabies and various diseases that are increasing in regions that we never used to see them before. Malaria has even increased and we're seeing it's shown in countries that it never used to be before.”
- Med shot: speakers at the podium with journalists in press room
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Manal Azzi, Senior Specialist on Occupational Safety and Health (ILO): “The key issues we face are not where it's known to be very hot for the longest period where people are very acclimatized. But it's the new regions where heat was never such an issue and has become an issue that we're facing some of the acute injuries that that we're seeing today. So we do have a list of detailed policy examples, collective bargaining examples, but also awareness raising and training programs that deal with all of the hazards I mentioned from vector borne disease control to air pollution to pesticides.”
- Close up: journalist listening
- Med shot, panelists at the podium
- Med shot, journalists in press room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN report on the Democratic Republic of Congo raises specter of war crimes and crimes against humanity in North and South Kivu, according to UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OHCHR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the International Organization for Migration, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Health Organization, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
As billions of people continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling half-way across the world.
2
3
2
Press Conferences | WMO
Launch of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)'s Air Quality and Climate Bulletin 2024.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
The UN disability rights committee (CRPD) presented the findings of its 33rd session on DPRK, Finland, Kiribati, Maldives and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
UN Human Rights Council President Ambassador Jürg Lauber briefs the press in Geneva ahead of the Council's 60th session.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence made the following comment on the on-going presidential election process in Cameroon at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , UNFPA
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women, the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the International Federation of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UNHCR
Afghanistan: Humanitarians scramble to reach survivors of deadly quake; response at ‘breaking point’
In remote eastern Afghanistan, aid workers are racing to assist survivors of Sunday’s devastating earthquake as the death toll continues to climb, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.