Sri Lanka lost working time equal to more than 120,000 full-time jobs in 2023 because of rising workplace heat stress, according to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The report, titled Impacts of heat stress on jobs and productivity in Sri Lanka, compares 2023 with the average year in the 1985 to 2014 period. It estimates that rising temperatures caused an additional economic loss of US$ 6.5 billion in 2023.
The ILO calculated the job losses from working hours lost to heat. Agriculture accounted for 48 percent, services for 22 percent, manufacturing for 13 percent, construction for 11 percent, and transport and trade for 6 percent. About 35 percent of the estimated losses fell in the second quarter of the year, when Sri Lanka has some of its most intense heat.
The ILO said the impact could worsen. By 2040, Sri Lanka could lose the equivalent of between 145,000 and 221,000 full-time jobs a year, depending on global greenhouse gas emissions. By 2060, annual losses could reach between 158,000 and 349,000, and in the highest-emissions scenario annual economic output could fall by 15.2 percent against the historical baseline.
“These findings make clear that heat stress is already affecting workers, enterprises and economies in Sri Lanka and the Maldives,” said Joni Simpson, ILO Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Background
The ILO is the United Nations agency for labour standards and workers’ rights. It said Sri Lanka’s average temperature has risen by about 1°C since the 1960s, while rainfall has become less predictable. Climate data for the past three decades point to a faster warming trend, with extreme temperature events becoming more frequent and intense.
The Sri Lanka study is one of two published for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and forms part of a six-country research initiative that also covers Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon and Senegal. The ILO commissioned the studies with support from the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable 20 Finance Ministers (CVF-V20), with funding from the CVF-V20 Joint Multi-Donor Fund.
For the Maldives, the ILO projects a loss of about 2,400 full-time jobs by 2040 under a low-emissions pathway, compared with about 145,000 in Sri Lanka.
What it means
The ILO said agriculture and construction workers are particularly exposed because they spend long hours outdoors in physically demanding work. Agriculture carries the largest share of the estimated losses.
The organisation recommended regulated work-rest schedules, drinking water and cooling facilities, better ventilation, and changes to working hours so that work avoids the hottest periods. It also pointed to social protection for workers who cannot cut their hours without losing essential income, and called for climate adaptation measures to protect the workforce.
