On July 22 (London time), according to AFP, a record heatwave in the UK in June caused the country's economy to lose about 1.15 billion pounds (equivalent to 1.5 billion USD) due to millions of hours of work lost.
This is the research result conducted by the Grantham Institute of London School of Economics (LSE) in collaboration with the Mediterranean Climate Change Center (CMCC).
According to research, in the peak hot week of late June alone, workers in the UK lost about 24 million working hours.
The research group surveyed 1,950 adults in the UK on the impact of heat on working hours, sleep and travel.
The results showed that on average, each person lost about 0.47 working hours per week affected by heat.
Notably, 3.6% of respondents (a level equivalent to about 1.25 million workers across the UK) said they could not go to work during that week because the weather was too hot.
Workers working outdoors or in environments directly affected by high temperatures, such as construction and agriculture, are significantly more severely affected than groups working in offices or industries less exposed to heat such as education and research.
Not only affecting labor productivity, the heat wave also causes many health problems.
Up to 87% of survey participants said they experienced at least one health-related problem during the hot week, including insomnia, work fatigue, dizziness, fainting and rapid heartbeat.
According to researchers, these impacts show that the UK is still not fully prepared for increasingly frequent extreme weather phenomena.
Ms. Elizabeth Robinson, Director of the Grantham Institute, said that the research results reflect the fact that the UK has not yet adapted effectively to climate change.
The management apparatus cannot continue to ignore extreme heat waves. It's time to act," Ms. Robinson emphasized.
This year, the UK recorded the hottest June in history, while many European countries such as France also experienced prolonged heat waves, disrupting traffic, schools and healthcare systems.
