Climate change is causing more frequent, intense, and prolonged heatwaves. This year alone, extreme heat has resulted in the deaths of 1,300 hajj pilgrims, forced school closures for about 80 million children in Africa and Asia, and increased hospitalizations and deaths in the Sahel region.
Since June 2023, each month has been the warmest on record since 1940, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The UN has urged governments to reduce fossil fuel emissions, enhance protections for vulnerable populations, including the elderly, pregnant women, and children, and improve safeguards for workers.
A recent International Labour Organization (ILO) report reveals that over 70% of the global workforce, or 2.4 billion people, are at high risk from extreme heat. In Africa, nearly 93% of the workforce is exposed to excessive heat, and 84% in the Arab States.
Excessive heat is linked to approximately 23 million workplace injuries and 19,000 deaths annually. Guterres has called for measures to protect workers and adapt economies and critical sectors, such as healthcare, to extreme heat conditions.
Rapid urbanization and the urban heat island effect are causing cities to warm at twice the global average rate. By 2050, some researchers predict a 700% increase in the number of urban poor facing extreme heat.
This is the first global call for action on extreme heat by the UN. Kathy Baughman McLeod, CEO of Climate Resilience for All, highlighted its significance, noting it recognizes both the scale of the problem and the unequal impact across different populations.
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