Heatwaves with Consequences for Productivity

Heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change. They affect people's well-being, health, and productivity. Economist Christian Kimmich from IHS, along with colleagues, studied the economic impacts of such heatwaves.

In their study, the researchers focused particularly on the decline in productivity among outdoor workers and also differentiated according to the degree of physical exertion.

Assuming a global warming of 3.6 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, the then expected average heatwaves could lead to a decline in Austria's annual economic output by 0.7 percent compared to the scenario without additional climate warming, Kimmich explained in an interview with APA. Kimmich emphasizes that the study does not include all impacts on productivity - such as poor sleep during tropical nights. Furthermore, the scenarios are played out without adaptation measures. However, such measures could certainly be worthwhile given the expected negative impacts of heatwaves, according to the economist.

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here .

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