UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for global action to save lives

United Nations: As global temperature records tumbled three days in a row this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for international action to limit the impact of heat and save lives.

"Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic -- wilting under increasingly deadly heatwaves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world. That's 122 degrees Fahrenheit -- and halfway to boiling," he said at a news conference here on Thursday.

"This past Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the three hottest days on record," he said, citing Copernicus Climate Change Service data.

"Heat is estimated to kill almost half a million people a year, that's about 30 times more than tropical cyclones," he added.

"Extreme heat amplifies inequality, inflames food insecurity, and pushes people further into poverty," he said.

Guterres called for action in four areas to ameliorate the effects of the heatwaves sweeping the world: Care for the most vulnerable; increased protection for workers; boost the resilience of economies and societies, and action to fight climate change by committing to keep temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. To protect the most vulnerable, he said, "We must respond by massively increasing access to low-carbon cooling; expanding passive cooling – such as natural solutions and urban design; and cleaning up cooling technologies while boosting their efficiency."

He referred to a report from the International Labour Organisation on the effect of heat on workers released on Thursday that warned that more than 70 per cent of the global workforce – 2.4 billion people – are now at high risk of extreme heat.

In the Asia-Pacific region, three out of four workers are exposed to extreme heat, it said.

Guterres said, "All of this is having a profound impact on people and the economy."

When daily temperatures rise above 34 degrees, labour productivity drops by 50 per cent and heat stress at work is projected to cost the global economy $2.4 trillion by 2030, up from $280 billion in the mid-1990s," he added. He called for worker protection measures and said, "We must ensure that laws and regulations reflect the reality of extreme heat today and are enforced. To build resilience against increasing heat, he said, "We need a concerted effort to heatproof economies, critical sectors, and the built environment." (IANS)

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