MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever felt it was too hot to work?

According to a new study, people working in the Philippines will experience more days like this by the year 2045 because of climate change.

A report by global risk analytics company Verisk Maplecroft predicts that the Philippines is in for 61 more working days exceeding safe levels of heat stress by 2045. From 276 heat stress days that have already been felt, the number of days could go up to 337 by 2045.

These too-hot-to-handle days could lead to a 16% drop in labor productivity by that year, reads the Heat Stress Index, released on Wednesday, October 28.

Five cities in the Philippines, all of which are in Mindanao, are likely to experience the hottest of these days.

These cities are among the top 50 cities in the world that will lose the most labor capacity due to excessive heat.

The cities and their rankings are:

• Zamboanga (24th)
• General Santos (35th)
• Cagayan de Oro (36th)
• Cotabato (37th)
• Iligan (38th)

The drop in labor productivity due to heat will be mainly driven by more cases of absent workers because of dizziness, fatigue, and nausea. In some extreme cases, the heat could even lead to death.

Workers in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction will be particularly affected. Thus, countries that depend on these industries, such as the Philippines, are the most at risk.

For agriculture, the heat will affect not only farmers but also agricultural commodities like crops and livestock. This could drive “food shortages, poverty, and migration – factors that can increase the risk of conflict and instability.”

Countries and companies should prepare for the toll of heat on their economies or businesses, said the analytics company.

“Governments and business need to identify which assets, sectors, commodities and groups are most at risk and what protective measures should be put in place,” said Dr James Allan, Head of Environment at Verisk Maplecroft.

The predicted loss in labor productivity is likely in a world of unabated global warming. The predictions in the report illustrate what would happen if by 2045, the global average temperature rises by roughly 2˚C.

As of posting, the Earth has already warmed by around 0.8˚C. (READ: Philippines faces ‘high’ level of water shortage in 2040 –study)

World leaders have committed to prevent catastrophic levels of global warming. The 21st Conference of Parties to be held in Paris, France this November to December seeks to forge a global agreement to stop this from happening. – Rappler.com