UNITED NATIONS: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for urgent global action to address the extreme heat epidemic fueled by climate change, days after the world recorded its hottest day on record.
Guterres stressed that “extreme heat is the new abnormal” and emphasized the need for the world to rise to the challenge of rising temperatures.
Climate change is causing heatwaves to become more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting across the globe. This year alone, extreme heat has resulted in the deaths of 1,300 hajj pilgrims, the closure of schools for 80 million children in Africa and Asia, and a spike in hospitalizations and deaths in the Sahel region.
Since June 2023, every month has been the warmest on record for its respective month, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The U.N. urged governments not only to reduce fossil fuel emissions, the main driver of climate change, but also to enhance protections for the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, pregnant women, and children.
Additionally, safeguards for workers need to be strengthened. A report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) published Thursday found that over 70 percent of the global workforce—approximately 2.4 billion people—are at high risk of extreme heat. In Africa, nearly 93 percent of the workforce is exposed to excessive heat, and 84 percent in the Arab States.
Excessive heat has been linked to nearly 23 million workplace injuries and around 19,000 deaths annually worldwide. Guterres called for measures to protect workers, grounded in human rights, and urged governments to “heatproof” their economies, critical sectors such as healthcare, and the built environment.
