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
A new UN Human Rights report published on Tuesday details the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti. According to data verified by the Office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday described the deadly impact of drone strikes in Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians
The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , ILO , OHCHR , UNHCR , WHO
UN Geneva press briefing by: HRC, ILO, OHCHR, UNHCR, WHO
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , HRC
Launch of the latest report of the Special Rapporteur "Torture and Genocide"
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
Middle East conflict impacts global trade, raising oil and commodity prices due to disruptions.
3
1
3
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
WMO State of the Global Climate 2025 report - UNDER EMBARGO 0400 GMT (0500 CET) Monday, 23 March 2026
UN weather agency warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ as planetary warming accelerates
All-time high greenhouse gas concentrations in our planet’s atmosphere continue to drive heat records on land and sea, with long-lasting consequences for humanity, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on Tuesday concerning the deadly blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul:
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on the impact of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , WFP
Middle East war may deepen global hunger; mass displacement, rights violations on the rise
The Middle East war could cause the worst disruption to humanitarian work since COVID, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , OHCHR , UNECE , UNRISD , UNSCOL , WFP , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development & the World Food Programme.