Subscribe
Exposure to extreme heat is disproportionately concentrated, with developing economies bearing the brunt of this exposure on the production side.
According to an analysis published in Nature Communications, India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh were the top five countries in terms of total hours exposed to extreme heat.
The new study found that trade contributed to nearly a quarter of the global workforce’s exposure to extreme heat. This analysis highlighted the significant transfer of heat exposure from developed to developing economies.
The study revealed a stark disparity between those responsible for climate change through historical emissions and those who suffer its impacts.
Researchers, including Meng Li and colleagues, used a climate model combined with an input-output model to assess the risks associated with trade-related exposure to extreme heat from 1995 to 2020.
The findings showed an 89 per cent increase in labour exposure to extreme heat due to trade, rising from 221.5 billion person-hours in 1995 to 419.0 billion person-hours in 2020.
Lower-middle-income and low-income economies accounted for 53.7 per cent and 18.3 per cent of global exposure, respectively, while contributing only 5.7 per cent and one per cent of global labour compensation.
In countries most vulnerable to extreme heat, workers were exposed to heat stress for up to 50 per cent of their working hours. Trade was found to disproportionately redistribute global risks, generating greater exposure than the value-added or labour compensation it produces.
The study also noted that wealthier economies experience fewer hours of extreme heat exposure per capita compared to their developing counterparts.
Countries such as India, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh were responsible for 24.7 per cent, 13.4 per cent, 7.3 per cent, 4.3 per cent, and 4.2 per cent of the global total exposed hours in 2020, respectively.
These nations, which are both labour-intensive and highly susceptible to extreme heat, saw significant portions of their workforce exposed to these conditions. In Nigeria, for example, workers faced heat stress for up to 59.4 per cent of their working hours in 2020.
Comparable figures for India, China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh were 47.6 per cent, 15.6 per cent, 50.8 per cent, and 48.4 per cent, respectively.
The redistribution of global exposure also varies by region. Economies in North America and Europe experienced a net transfer of exposure to other regions, while those in South America, Africa, and Asia bore the brunt of transferred exposure.
For instance, in 2020, countries like Thailand and Nigeria faced average per capita exposure hours of 1319.5 and 1186.8, respectively, compared to just 28.1 hours in Germany and 260.9 hours in the United States.
The disproportionate exposure in developing economies means that workers in these regions endure significantly longer working hours under extreme heat conditions than their counterparts in more developed economies.