Heat waves: 75 billion hours of work lost in India in 2017

India lost 75 billion working hours in 2017 because of heat waves that make outdoor work extremely difficult for the lakhs, according to a new study badessing countries' vulnerabilities to the rising temperatures.

49% of the world's lost workforce equates to nearly 39 million people who are not working in 2017, accounting for 7% of India's total labor force.

The rise in temperatures is a health risk for the workplace and, moreover, it regularly exceeds the physiological thresholds. sustained work becomes more difficult, if not impossible.

In 2017, 153 billion hours of work were lost due to heat, an increase of 62 billion hours compared to the loss suffered in 2000. Most of the losses occurred in India, South-East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America already vulnerable.

About 80% of these losses are in the agricultural sector (122 billion hours lost), 17.5% belong to the industry sector (27 billion) and 2.5% to the service sector. (4 billion), according to the study published in the November 28 issue of the journal Lancet .

The results are published just days before the UN climate summit in Poland, where the world must finalize the regulation for the implementation of the emissions reduction targets set in Paris three years ago.

"Vulnerability to extreme heat has steadily increased Joacim Rocklöv, professor at the University of Umea, Sweden, and one of the authors of the paper of research.

"The most vulnerable people to heat-related hazards are the elderly (especially in urban areas), who have a weakened heat defenses, and workers exposed to very hot environments such as fire. agriculture, construction and manufacturing, "said Nick Watts, executive director of Lancet Countdo. wn, a multidisciplinary research collaboration between academic centers around the world, examining the link between climate change and health.

"People with already existing diseases such as neurological and psychiatric diseases, heart disease, lung disease, kidney and kidney disease diabetics are vulnerable to heatwaves," said [2409005] DH

Member of the Institute for Global Health of University College London,

. In India, heat waves killed nearly 2,000 people in India.

Globally, 157 million vulnerable people were exposed to heatwaves worldwide in 2017 and 153 billion hours of work were lost due to exposure to the heat.