Too hot for work: why extreme heat is a threat to Europe’s productivity

M onique Mosley is used to sweltering conditions at the food factory in Yorkshire where she works, but June’s record-breaking heatwave has made conditions unbearable. “We make hot filled food products and it’s common that we see temperatures in the high 30s,” she said. “Thanks to our union, our employer is offering extra breaks, but not every workplace is the same.” The latest heatwave to grip the UK and much of western Europe has presented significant challenges to employers and their employees , from sweltering offices, disrupted commutes and school closures to dangerous construction sites where workers are at risk of dehydration, heatstroke and other injury. There is now a growing acceptance that increasing spells of extreme heat have a significant impact on productivity and threaten Europe’s already sluggish economies. Economists warn that the climate crisis will dent economic growth unless European countries adapt their ageing buildings and infrastructure. Robert Marks, the lead climate economist at Oxford Economics , said temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s would “likely lead to substantial productivity losses and directly disrupt labour across construction, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and hospitality and other sectors which are unable to provide a protected work environment”. “These sectors represent 27% of economic activity in the UK and an average of 35% in western Europe,” he said. …