A number of research papers were introduced at a forum held in Kuala Lumpur by the United Nations University and UN Development Program. The topic for discussion was how we could reduce the risks from severe weather events, reports the Independent.
Two papers highlighted the estimated economic costs from a loss in productivity in India and China due to global warming, while other papers discussed the risks associated with increasingly heavy rains in spreading diseases, declines in air quality, as well as impacts from other weather extremes. The research papers were published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health.
Climate change will cost East Asia 6% of its GDP pic.twitter.com/4UwdKm1SuM
— World Economic Forum (@Davos) May 5, 2016
Dr. Tord Kjellstrom is a director at the New Zealand-based Health and Environment International Trust, and the author of a paper on the effects of “heat stress” on global economies. His research shows that in Southeast Asia alone, almost 20 percent of annual work hours are already being lost due to exposure to extreme heat.
Around the globe, 43 countries, the majority of them in Asia, including Malaysia, China, India, and Bangladesh, will see a reduction in their Gross National product (GNP) due to lost productivity.
“Current climate conditions in tropical and subtropical parts of the world are already so hot during the hot seasons that occupational health effects occur and work capacity for many people is affected,” said Kjellstrom, according to Reuters.
An increasing need for workers to rest as the hottest days become even hotter is already being seen in places like India, where some jobs are already shared by two people to allow regular breaks from the heat. In just 14 years time, the bill for the extra workers and lost productivity will be around $446 billion.
It is easy to imagine who will be most affected by the increased heat — the lowest-paid workers, those in heavy labor, agriculture, and manufacturing. Calling on world leaders to take decisive action, Kjellstrom says, “Failure will cause the frequency and intensity of disasters to worsen dramatically beyond 2050, and the situation at the end of this century will be especially alarming for the world’s poorest people
Clean Malaysia is reporting the projections cited in the research papers are in line with studies made recently by Malaysian researchers from the University of Malaya and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Malaysian researchers are estimating the costs of climate change could come to a staggering RM40 trillion ($10.2 trillion) by the end of the century.
