GENEVA: A recent study conducted by UN’s International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that India is on its way to lose 5.8 per cent of working hours by 2030. This, when equated to the number of jobs, roughly projects a loss of 34 million jobs, primarily in the primary sectors like agriculture, construction etc. The report, titled ‘Working on a Warmer Planet – The Impact of Heat Stress on Labor Productivity and Decent Work’, highlights that the world would be losing two per cent of total working hours annually until 2030, owing to global warming.
“Projections based on a global temperature rise of 1.5°C by the end of the 21st century, and also on labour force trends, suggest that, in 2030, 2.2 per cent of total working hours worldwide will be lost to high temperatures – a productivity loss equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs,” highlights the report.
This would deal a gradually accumulated loss of $2,400 billion to the world economy by 2030. “If nothing is done now to mitigate climate change, these costs will be much higher as global temperatures increase even further towards the end of the century,” the reports said.
The Southern Asian region is projected to be hit by the growing global heat, the most and a far greater stress on labor productivity in the region is expected. In a dire warning, the reports said that the country most affected by heat stress is India, which lost 4.3 per cent of working hours in 1995 and is projected to lose 5.8 per cent of working hours by 2030.