Heat Stress from Global Warming may Prevent Economic Growth

They add to warnings that the global community may not have heeded - that we need to adapt to rapidly increasing temperatures, for instance, because of growing the use of air conditioning. In fact, the general cost of extreme heat events might be higher than was previously estimated.

In the most recent study published, Verisk Maplecroft presented a report pointing to two regions that will experience extreme heat stress conditions during next 30 years: Central America and Southeast Asia. Heat stress acts as a depressant on working efficiency because of the risk of heat-related diseases on enormously hot days.

Southeast Asian countries have become high-tech manufacturing centers. This means falling productivity would affect industries using computer equipment. Many nations in that particular region have limited technical and financial capacity to adapt quickly to climate changes, which may scare off potential investors as climate-related financial risks rise to higher levels than ever.

The Verisk research emphasizes that the predicted impact of growing heat stress on labor centers in these regions has been overlooked. This study predicts a 16% reduction in labor productivity due to heat stress in the Southeast Asia through the year 2045. Within a generation, economies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore could be a quarter less productive than they are today. The report also states that the progressive rising of global temperature and humidity are likely to increase the number of working hours that exceed safe levels of heat stress. This can cause absence from work through fatigue, nausea, dizziness, and even death.

A principal environmental analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, Richard Houston, says: “Areas that are warm today will be warm in the future.” The company discovered that the risk of lost labor productivity because of heat stress will be extremely high in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Malaysia alone is home to 20 of the 50 cities identified as centers of the most labor capacity losses. Thirteen of such cities are located in Indonesia.

Another study - focused on the Middle East - established that parts of that region – including Dubai, Doha, and Mecca – have a possibility to experience the kind of extreme heat that would endanger human health by the end of this century.

The study found that over the long term, extreme heat could exceed the limit at which the human body can operate without air conditioning. Due to this, anyone who needs to work outdoors or who does not have access to air conditioning has a high chance of facing severe risks to their health or even potential death.

The countries that will suffer the most are those that are the hottest today. In fact, poorer countries are the ones who will lose the most. On the other hand, very cold countries are going to benefit from this situation. Such global climate changes will reshape the structure of the world economy and how wealth spreads around the planet.

About the Author: Colin Fisher is a qualified educator at the Louisiana State University (LSU). He also works as blogger and freelance writer in several services like okessays.com helping students to improve writing skills.