The return of the siesta: How extreme heat is going to change your work day

As another round of summer heatwaves hit much of the U.S., southern Europe, and parts of Asia, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre this week called on businesses to shift their working schedules, and allow affected workers to rest during the hottest hours of the day.

“Extreme heat is rising around the world and our pace of adaption needs to increase as well to meet the rising risk and reduce it,” Julie Arrighi, the director of the center told me over the phone from upstate New York. The two types of workers most at risk, she told me, are those working outdoors, and those working indoors in unventilated areas, covering any sector from tourism to construction.  

The warning comes at a historical moment: Last month was the hottest June ever globally, and if this month’s heat wave continues, 2023 may well be the hottest year ever, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. It has business leaders everywhere thinking about how to respond because the warming has consequences for workers. Last year was Europe’s deadliest summer on record with 60,000 people dying from heat-related causes. Back in air-conditioned America, the death toll was much lower, but $68 billion (0.3% of the U.S. GDP) was nevertheless lost in potential income from reduced labor due to extreme heat, according to a study by The Lancet.

To adapt, it’s not all about taking more siestas. Arrighi’s team recommends a series of measures, which include reducing workload or suspending work entirely during the hottest hours of the day, but also providing frequent breaks in cool settings, providing access to water and encouraging hydration, and training employees in warning signs of heat stress as well as basic first aid.

The Red Cross itself went into overdrive these past days, Arrighi told me, counting on volunteers to hand out water and checking in on the most vulnerable people. But long-term, society will need to make a more concerted effort to reduce the effects of extreme heat: more green spaces in cities, different building codes, adapted transport, water and electricity systems. “There’s a need for all sectors in society to react,” she said.

More news below.

Peter Vanham
peter.vanham@fortune.com
@petervanham

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This edition was CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.