Climate-linked heat inequality in the global southern workforce: Cambodian workers’ economic and health vulnerability to high core temperatures in five occupational sectors

Abstract

Under climate change, the risk of heatwaves is increasing worldwide. However, the health risks resulting from heatwaves are uneven. Relatively socially disadvantaged people are disproportionately affected by temperature extremes. This paper explores this point in Cambodia: one of the world's hottest and most humid countries, and a Least Developed Country (LDC) as designated by the UN. The paper evidences the extent of the heat exposure faced by workers in Cambodia and the way occupational, environmental and geographical dynamics combine to shape it. It explores heat stress in five occupational sectors–construction, garment work, informal selling, agriculture and tourism work–across four climatic zones of Cambodia. The results of the study show that 64% of the 100 surveyed workers recorded core temperatures over 38°C–considered an unhealthy body temperature–at least once within 7 days of work. However, substantial variances were observed within and between occupations. Even within the same study region, the number of working minutes over 38°C ranged from 0.8% on average for tourism workers to 8.4% of working minutes for construction workers. These variations translate to significant differences in occupational sensitivity to high temperatures, especially when combined with humidity.