The Climate Change Committee, which advises the UK government, recently assessed the risks<\/a> and what is needed to mitigate our changing weather. But its report and the debate about climate adaptation have largely overlooked the plight of workers.<\/p>\n In the UK, like many other parts of the world, they are already suffering from \u2013 and adapting informally to \u2013 increasingly disruptive weather, often without adequate support.<\/p>\n In June, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK\u2019s workplace regulator, issued a heat health alert that urged employers to act to make sure their workers are protected from heat \u2013 albeit without giving any guidance on what \u201ctoo hot\u201d means.<\/p>\n There\u2019s currently no law on the maximum working temperature allowed in the UK. Nor has there been a comprehensive analysis<\/a> of the short- and long-term impacts of the heatwaves in 2022 on UK workers\u2019 health.<\/p>\n Those effects result from the UK\u2019s climate having altered in a number of ways. The decade from 2015-2024 was 10% wetter and 1.24C\u00b0 warmer than the 1961-1990 period. The past three years have all been among the top-five warmest on record, with the 40\u00b0C threshold exceeded in July 2022 for the first time since the mid-19th century.<\/p>\n The economic impact of this climate change will be huge. While there is not yet a full estimation of the costs for the UK, estimations<\/a> from climate-induced weather hazards more broadly \u2013 of flood damage, failed infrastructure and falling productivity \u2013 predict a decline in the value of GDP<\/a> (gross domestic product) of between 3 and 7%. <\/p>\n There are also indirect losses<\/a> due to decreased productivity, absenteeism and performance inefficiency.<\/p>\n Our survey<\/a> of 1,288 workers across the seven climate-exposed sectors reveals that heat stress is now one of the leading causes of weather-related sick leave \u2013 40% of workers who had taken sick leave due to weather factors said heat was a factor.<\/p>\n But heat is only part of the problem. The rapidly changing climate in the UK is affecting workers across a range of hazards including flooding, drought, storms, snow and ice, and air pollution-related conditions. <\/p>\n Heat is the leading cause of weather-related sick leave, but there are many others.![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20260806-50-b5f5xk.jpg\")
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