In February, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service warned that global warming and heatwaves had caused a year-long breach of the 1.5C target set out in the Paris Agreement.
Five months later, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed that July was the warmest on record globally. Policy makers and safety officials are increasingly concerned that populations are at risk, and this is no longer a future problem but an immediate crisis that requires immediate action.
It’s no secret that climate change has led to more frequent extreme weather around the globe. Each year, weather events and headlines worsen, and the threat to human life is ever-increasing.
In the US, we’ve seen intense heatwaves, storms, floods and forest fires presenting a growing threat to workers. Europe is no different. This August, researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health estimated that the summer of 2023 saw 47,690 heat-related deaths, with a mortality rate second only to 2022.
Peak temperatures naturally occur during the working day, which means employers are now on the front lines of fighting threats to workers. This is especially apparent given the EU has had a 42% increase in heat-related at-work deaths since the millennium.
In one incident a construction worker, David Azevedo, died from a ‘cardiac arrest caused by severe hyperthermia’ after working for several days on a site where the temperature was thought to be above 35C for hours at a time. When he became ill, his colleagues called an ambulance, but the hospital was unable to save him from severe heatstroke. Deaths like this are preventable and illustrate how crucial this aspect of employee health and safety has become as global temperatures rise.
Turning our attention to the UK, which has also seen an increase in temperatures year on year, the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute highlighted that the 2022 summer heatwave, where temperatures reached up to 40C, exposed a ‘governance gap’, meaning that while plans had been put in place to prepare the NHS, there was a lack of emphasis on prevention of harm.
This gap is exacerbated by the quality of housing stock. In January 2024, the Environmental Audit Committee discussed the wide-spread need for retrofitting, with a large portion of UK homes unprepared for extreme heat. While business leaders are not required to ensure their workers’ homes are heatwave-ready, they must consider the implications beyond the immediate workplace, noting that Britain is not built for hot weather.
Although under UK law, there is no maximum temperature for working, employers still have a duty to protect their workers from challenging weather and natural disasters. It is not enough to do the bare minimum when it comes to health and safety. Instead, proper control of work, safety standards and reporting frameworks, and comprehensive risk assessments are all essential to empowering employers (and employees) in an environment where regulation does not yet reflect the increased danger from extreme heat.
Getting ahead of this curve is where technology plays a critical role. Data driven insights can help business leaders prepare for what’s to come, especially as heatwaves become more frequent. When considering their priorities, corporations must consider who their most vulnerable workers are, and invest in keeping them safe. For example, lone workers, especially those working outdoors, are particularly at risk during periods of extreme heat.
Where lone workers are concerned, employers have a heightened responsibility to ensure risks are assessed and safety standards are monitored throughout their work. In cases of extreme weather, the business’ chosen solution(s) should enable them to access help or guidance, whenever necessary. To facilitate this, a robust communications system and protocol is critical from the beginning of each project to its completion. Traditional methods of communication, such as texts or calls, may be of limited value if they are subject to bad signal or illness of the user.
Instead, solutions – whether for lone workers or larger workforces – should have capabilities personalised to the corporation’s needs. For example, for those operating in remote areas, workers should be equipped with technology able to connect with no wi-fi or low signal, and, for those working in dangerous outdoor spaces, fall detection alerts should be put in place. Perhaps most importantly of all, regular check-ins should be timetabled and, when missed, an alert should be sent out.
Alongside the adoption of technology, business leaders should ensure they are proactive in providing employees with appropriate clothing and adequate training. By combining practical steps with solution integration, it becomes easier to mitigate risk and build a strategy for the long-term.
When extreme weather occurs, simply being aware is not enough. Companies should outline steps to be followed that enable them to provide help as soon as safety protocols are activated. This can be factored into any chosen solution through GPS location tracking capabilities, enabling immediate action once an alert is raised.
For those with a duty of care for individuals working in the elements, a range of steps can be taken to keep them safe during extreme heat. To mitigate risk, employers should have procedures in place to react to situations as they occur, but also to prevent the preventable as a baseline for employee welfare.
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