Unable to focus? Researchers find the link between extreme heatwaves and workplace injuries
The heat increases workplace injuries by making it harder to concentrate.
By New York Times |
iStock
Extreme heat causes many times more workplace injuries than official records capture, and those injuries are concentrated among the poorest workers, new research suggests, the latest evidence of how climate change worsens inequality.
Hotter days don’t just mean more cases of heat stroke, but also injuries from falling, being struck by vehicles or mishandling machinery, the data show, leading to an additional 20,000 workplace injuries each year in California alone. The data suggest that heat increases workplace injuries by making it harder to concentrate.
“Most people still associate climate risk with sea-level rise, hurricanes and wildfires,” said R. Jisung Park, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles and the lead author of the study. “Heat is only beginning to creep into the consciousness as something that is immediately damaging.”
To understand the link between extreme heat and worker injuries, Park, along with his co-authors, Nora Pankratz and A. Patrick Behrer, obtained California workers’ compensation injury reports from 2001 through 2018 and built a database of more than 11 million injuries showing the date and ZIP code for each.
The authors combined those reports with the temperature highs for each day and place. They then looked to see whether the number of injuries increased on days with higher temperatures, and by how much.
On days when the temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30-33 degree Celcius), the researchers found that the overall risk of workplace injuries, regardless of the official cause, was 5-7% higher than days when the temperatures were in the 60s. When temperature tops 100 degrees (38 degree Celcius), the overall risk of injuries was 10-15% greater.
That points to a high number of heat-related injuries that are listed in other categories. The researchers found that extreme heat is likely to have caused about 20,000 extra injuries a year, or 360,000 extra injuries over the 18-year period they studied.
The findings are set to be made public as a working paper on Monday. Park previewed his findings Thursday during a hearing by the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Hotter days don’t just mean more cases of heat stroke, but also injuries from falling, being struck by vehicles or mishandling machinery, the data show, leading to an additional 20,000 workplace injuries each year in California alone. The data suggest that heat increases workplace injuries by making it harder to concentrate.
“Most people still associate climate risk with sea-level rise, hurricanes and wildfires,” said R. Jisung Park, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles and the lead author of the study. “Heat is only beginning to creep into the consciousness as something that is immediately damaging.”
To understand the link between extreme heat and worker injuries, Park, along with his co-authors, Nora Pankratz and A. Patrick Behrer, obtained California workers’ compensation injury reports from 2001 through 2018 and built a database of more than 11 million injuries showing the date and ZIP code for each.
The authors combined those reports with the temperature highs for each day and place. They then looked to see whether the number of injuries increased on days with higher temperatures, and by how much.
On days when the temperature was between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30-33 degree Celcius), the researchers found that the overall risk of workplace injuries, regardless of the official cause, was 5-7% higher than days when the temperatures were in the 60s. When temperature tops 100 degrees (38 degree Celcius), the overall risk of injuries was 10-15% greater.
ADVERTISEMENT
That points to a high number of heat-related injuries that are listed in other categories. The researchers found that extreme heat is likely to have caused about 20,000 extra injuries a year, or 360,000 extra injuries over the 18-year period they studied.
The findings are set to be made public as a working paper on Monday. Park previewed his findings Thursday during a hearing by the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Technology has been a boon to us, but letting it hijack our lives can be quite challenging.
Excessive smartphone use, WiFi signal, and huge devices are causing more harm than good.
The advancement of technology and our addiction towards it, in turn, is leading to several changes in our bodies.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
