Guardian - Price Tag For Australia's Heatwaves - At Least $6 Billion US/Year

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Heatwaves are having a significant impact upon Australian workplaces, with research calculating that lost productivity and absenteeism is costing the economy at least US$6.2bn ($7.92bn) a year. A study of 1,726 working adults across Australia found 70% had worked less efficiently at some point over the past year owing to heat. A further 7% had missed at least one day of work because of high temperatures.

Researchers estimated the average loss due to reduced productivity is US$932 a person a year, costing the Australian economy US$6.2bn.

The studies, conducted in May and October last year, covered the previous 12 months. Australia had its hottest year on record in 2013, with last year calculated to be the third warmest year on record.

The paper, published in Nature Climate Change, said while 2013 was an exceptionally hot year, workplaces would need to start adapting to extreme heat “if severe economic impacts from labour productivity loss are to be avoided if heatwaves become as frequent as predicted”. The research, led by Charles Darwin University, noted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings that it is 90% certain the number of warm days and nights has increased globally, and 99% certain that the frequency of warm days and nights will increase in the decades ahead.

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http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/05/heatwaves-impact-on-workplaces-costing-australia-792bn-a-year

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