Indian agri workers to be affected by heat stress and loss of working hours due to rising temperature

Indian agri workers to be affected by heat stress and loss of working hours due to rising temperature, says the International Labor Organization report called World Employment and Social Outlook 2018: Greening with job. The projected temperature rise will make the heat stress more common, reducing the total number of working hours, warns the report.

According to the report, agricultural workers will be the worst affected and foresees a loss of 64 percent of total work hours due to heat stress in India by 2030. In India, an estimated 4.2 percent of total hours worked were lost in 1995 due to high heat levels, amounting to 15.1 million full-time jobs.

Estimates combining a global temperature rise of 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of the 21st century and labour force trends suggest that by 2030, the percentage of total hours of work lost will rise to 5.3 per cent, a productivity loss equivalent to 30.8 million full-time jobs.

Currently, in India, around 194 million jobs rely directly on the effective management and sustainability of a healthy environment, in particular jobs in farming, fishing and forestry relying on natural processes such as air and water purification, soil renewal and fertilisation, pollination, pest control, the moderation of extreme temperatures, and protection against storms, floods and strong winds.

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