Climate Facts: 70% of global workforce at risk of extreme heat, says ILO

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can prove difficult to digest. TheCable’s quick climate facts will help demystify these concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says 70 percent of the global workforce (2.4 billion) is at risk of extreme heat.

• ILO said this has resulted in 22.85 million injuries and 18,970 deaths annually.

• The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says nearly 2.2 billion children under 18 will be exposed to intense heatwave if the current trend continues.

• UNICEF says heat-related mortality for people over 65 years increased by approximately 85 percent between 2000-2004 and 2018-2022.

• The United Nations (UN) says air pollution accounted for 8.1 million deaths globally in 2021, becoming the second leading risk factor.

• The organisation said pollutants like outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which comes from burning fossil fuels, caused more than 90 percent of global air pollution deaths and were found to be the most consistent and accurate predictor of poor health outcomes around the world.