The climate threat|Global challenges

The climate threat|Global challenges
FN: Seven out of ten work in too high temperatures

Almost 70 percent of the world's workers are exposed to excessive temperatures at work, according to a new report from the UN agency the International Labor Organization (ILO). This is reported by AFP.

This is a nine percent increase since the year 2000. The worst affected are workers in Africa (93 percent), followed by the Arab states (83.6 percent) and Asia and the Pacific (74.7 percent).

However, the increase was greatest in Europe and Central Asia – where the figure rose to 29 percent, an increase of 17.3 percent since 2000.

The problem will worsen as global warming accelerates, the ILO warns. 

"Countries previously unaccustomed to extreme heat will face unfamiliar threats that they may be ill-equipped to deal with, while conditions in already affected regions [...] will worsen even more."

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Extreme heat in Morocco killed 21 in one day

21 people have died in one day during a severe heat wave in the city of Beni Mellal in central Morocco, AFP reports.

During the week, large parts of the country were affected by temperatures of up to 48 degrees.

"The majority of the deaths involved the elderly and people with chronic diseases," local authorities write in a statement.

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Moroccan farmers.
160,000 farmers have lost their jobs in the drought

Morocco has been hit by drought for six consecutive years, threatening the country's vital agricultural sector. Almost 160,000 farmers have lost their jobs as a result of the drought, the authorities said according to AFP.

At the end of June, Water Minister Nizar Baraka stated that 1.5 million cubic meters of water evaporated every day. This after the warmest winter in over 80 years.

In August last year, a new national heat record of 50.4 degrees was broken in the coastal city of Agadir.