Heat Impacts on Work, Human Performance, and Daily Life

Abstract

Abstract Heat exposure from the combination of air temperature, humidity, air movement, and heat radiation causes heat stress, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and heat-related mortality. Potential chronic effects of heat include mental health problems, chronic kidney disease (due to repeated dehydration), congenital malformations, and deterioration of clinical status of heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and some other chronic conditions. Physiological effects stem from changes in core body temperature and body hydration. Indices of heat effects include the heat index (HI), corrected effective temperature (CET), humidex, wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT, designed for workplace heat assessment), and universal thermal climate index (UTCI). Climate change will compromise human performance and outdoor work capacity. Without additional interventions, increasing global temperature in most parts of the world will create increasing risks for heat impacts on work, human performance, and daily life.