Giving Compass' Take:
- Dana Cronin discusses how farmworkers risk losing out on paychecks due to extreme heat, forcing them to choose between health and financial stability.
- How are migrant and undocumented farmworkers who can't afford to miss a paycheck most at risk? What climate action is needed to prevent extreme heat from worsening?
- Learn more about the impacts of climate change on farmworkers’ health.
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People who work outside increasingly risk their income, illness and even death as climate change ramps up extreme heat.
That’s according to a first-of-its-kind study from the Union of Concerned Scientists, titled “Too Hot To Work.” The study focused on workers who spend some or all of their work time outside, including construction workers, emergency responders and landscapers.
In the Midwest, farmworkers comprise a large portion of the outdoor workforce.
“Farmworkers are one of the groups that's most vulnerable to heat-related illness and exposure,” says Rachel Licker, a senior climate scientist, who helped compile the report.
Agricultural workers are up to 30 times more likely to die as a result of exposure to extreme heat than the general workforce, she says. That’s because many can’t afford to miss a paycheck.
Across the country, outdoor workers are at risk of losing up to $55.4 billion in earnings between now and 2065, according to the report. By mid-century in Illinois, where farmworkers provide an economic backbone, up to thirty-three workdays could be lost due to extreme temperatures. That’s compared to five workdays historically and accounts for about $2,300 in lost earnings.
Read the full article about heat hurting farmworkers by Dana Cronin at Harvest Public Media.