As rising global temperatures and changing extreme weather patterns reshape the conception of “normal,” no one will be more affected than the workers who are sent out to the frontlines of climate change. Climate change is among the biggest emerging workplace hazards in the United States, one that ”can amplify existing health and safety issues and could lead to new unanticipated hazards,” according to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. “Workers are often the first to be exposed to the effects of climate change, for longer durations and at greater intensities than the general public,” wrote a group of U.S. and international researchers in a 2016 report. “Additionally, workers are often exposed to conditions that the general public can elect to avoid.”From contractors to construction workers, fishermen to firefighters, those who labor outdoors will bear the brunt of climate change. We found that climate change is already making working conditions more dangerous ― and in some cases, deadly.

Source: Huffington Post September 12, 2018 12:56 UTC