Now that climate change has raised temperatures to the highest levels in history, new research shows the impact of heat on workers is spreading across the economy and lowering productivity. Heat is costing the U.S. economy billions in lost productivity:
Evan Avant assembles the iron framework for a billboard in Oklahoma City, Okla., July 27, 2023.
“We’ve known for a very long time that human beings are very sensitive to temperature, and that their performance declines dramatically when exposed to heat, but what we haven’t known until very recently is whether and how those lab responses meaningfully extrapolate to the real-world economy,” said R. Jisung Park, an environmental and labor economist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Of the many economic costs of climate change — dying crops, spiking insurance rates, flooded properties — the loss of productivity caused by heat is emerging as one of the biggest, experts say. Business groups are opposed to a national standard, saying it would be too expensive because it would probably require rest, water and shade breaks and possibly the installation of air conditioning.
Workers wear heavy protective aprons and helmets and use water vats and hoses heated to 180 degrees to sanitize their equipment. It has always been hot work. “There is an air conditioner in every part of the store, but the thermostat in the kitchen still showed it was over 100 degrees,” said Maria Rodriguez, who has worked at the same McDonald's on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles for 20 years but walked out July 21, sacrificing a day of pay. “It’s been hot before, but never like this summer. I felt terrible — like I could pass out or faint at any moment.
Warehouse workers across the country are also feeling the heat. Sersie Cobb, a forklift driver who stocks boxes of pasta in a warehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, said the stifling heat can make it difficult to breathe. “Sometimes I get dizzy and start seeing dots,” Cobb said. “My vision starts to go black. I stop work immediately when that happens. Two times this summer I’ve had heart palpitations from the heat, and left work early to go to the ER.
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