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 | UNIFIL
UN Security Council meets amid rising Israel-Hezbollah tensions in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the biweekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson made the following remarks deplored the death in State custody of Brooklyn Rivera in Nicaragua.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Lebanon: Tyre hospital strikes leave patients without critical care – WHO
The UN health agency in Lebanon is verifying reports of strikes on a hospital in the southern city of Tyre on Monday, amid a concerning rise in attacks on healthcare in the country.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNICEF , UNCTAD , UNFPA , WHO , WFP , IOM , OHCHR , UNHCR
UNICEF: Impact of the US-Israel-Iran escalation on supply operations; UNCTAD: Strait of Hormuz Economic impacts of disruptions; UNFPA: Urgent need for protection of maternal health for women and girls in Sudan and Lebanon; WHO: Restoration of vital health-care services in Lebanon urgently needs sustained ceasefire and peace; WFP: Global funding shortfall; IOM: Cross-border Ebola Response in the DRC; OHCHR: Nicaragua death in custody, Specialised judicial units in Haiti; UNHCR: Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
El Niño confirmed, extreme weather events will be more intense, says WMO
The UN urged all countries on Tuesday to bolster early warning systems after confirming the onset of El Niño, warning that the Pacific Ocean-warming phenomenon will bring above-average temperatures “nearly everywhere” and fuel more extreme weather.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ILO , WFP , WHO , UNICEF
UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service, with the participation of representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, WFP and ILO.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Peggy Hicks, Director of Thematic and Special Procedures Division, speaks.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , WHO , UNRWA , UNHCR , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , IFRC , WMO
UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Rolando Gómez, Chief, Press and External Relations Section, UN Information Service, with the participation of representatives of the WHO, UNRWA, UNHCR, OHCHR, UN Women, IFRC and the WMO.