Heat stress and rising temperatures are affecting worker safety and health, as well as productivity, enterprises, and the wider economy in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, the Maldives, Senegal and Sri Lanka, new multi-country studies from the International Labour Organization have found.
The studies, launched at a high-level online event on 29 October 2026 showed that the risks were particularly acute in countries with high levels of outdoor and labour-intensive employment.
These impacts are particularly significant in countries where large shares of employment are concentrated in outdoor and labour-intensive sectors, such as agriculture, construction, fisheries, and transport.
"Every single industry and every single workplace will stand to benefit from adapting workplaces to heat stress," said Andreas Floris, lead author of the studies.
The degree to which heat stress has impacted the world of work, however, is also determined by national climate conditions, economic and employment structures and a country's adaptive capacity.
