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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 June 2023) | Viewed by 7362

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Prof. Dr. Frank E. Marino

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Guest Editor

School of Allied Health, Exercise & Sports Science, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW 2795, Australia
Interests: human temperature regulation; fatigue; evolutionary biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global heating is generating increasing risks to all facets of human life, work, wellbeing, health and safety. The direct impact of living and working in a hotter atmosphere engenders specific risks. This Special Issue, will explore the impact of climate change on workplace wellbeing across a range of industries with an emphasis on regional Australia, where the threshold of outdoor temperatures that require reduced physical work intensity to protect workers’ health is increasingly being surpassed. We will investigate the physical impact of climate change, including the adequacy of work-to-rest recommendations and expectations, in labour-intensive, outdoor workplaces. For workplaces with a focus on health, disability and ageing, we will explore the physical and psychological impacts on workers and their clients. Finally, focusing on regional labour markets, we will identify potential and actual public and occupational health responses in the face of climate change to support work and population health, safety and productivity across the broad spectrum of human interaction with the environment. All papers that explore this human interaction with climate change, including experimental studies, opinion and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Frank E. Marino
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

climate change
health
liveability
occupation
adaptation
safety
productivity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 6768 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Broad Scale Spatial Modelling of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to Investigate Impact of Shade and Airflow on Heat Injury Risk and Labour Capacity in Warm to Hot Climates

by Andrew Hall and Ana Horta

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(15), 6531; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20156531 - 05 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1210

Abstract

While shade and air flow are recognised factors that reduce outdoor heat exposure, the level of reduction in terms of labour capacity at varying air temperature and humidity levels is poorly understood. This study investigated cooling effects on the commonly used heat index, wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), and subsequent impact on labour capacity, for a range of air flow and shade conditions in warm to hot climates. We modelled heat exposure using a physics-based method to map WBGT for a case study region which experiences a range of heat categories with varying levels of health risks for outdoor workers. Continent-scale modelling confirmed significant spatial variability in the effect of various shade and wind speed scenarios across a range of real-world mid-summer daytime conditions. At high WBGTs, increasing shade or air flow for outdoor workers lowered heat exposure and increases labour capacity, with shade giving the greatest benefit, but cooling varied considerably depending upon underlying air temperature and humidity. Shade had the greater cooling effect; reducing incident radiation by 90% decreased WBGT by 2–6 °C depending on location. Wind had a lower cooling effect in the hottest regions, with a decreasing exponential relationship between wind speed and WBGT observed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Health, Performance and Climate Change)

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14 pages, 368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Charmaine Mullins-Jaime

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(13), 6258; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136258 - 30 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1256

Abstract

Background: Some impacts of climate change that are expected to affect the American workforce are rising temperatures, greater prevalence of wildland fires, increase in Lyme disease, and exposure to insecticides. The purpose of this study was to assess how fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries due to environmental heat, forest/brush fires, Lyme disease, and exposure to insecticides have changed over time in the United States and if there were any significant relationships between national occupational injury/illness data and national temperature trends. Methods: Linear regression models assessed fatal and non-fatal injuries/illnesses since 1992 by both the frequency of incidents and the proportion of total incidents and the effects of national average temperatures. Results: There were significant increases in occupational fatalities and illnesses due to exposure to environmental heat and national average annual temperatures were predictive of heat exposure fatalities and illnesses. Conclusion: Heat exposure is an occupational hazard that must be managed carefully in the coming years. Organizations will need to take more aggressive heat exposure control measures as temperatures continue to rise and remain hotter for longer periods during the year. While not currently showing increasing trends on a national scale, the prevalence of occupational incidents due to forest/brush fires, Lyme disease, and insecticides should be monitored as the United States experiences more of the projected impacts of climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Health, Performance and Climate Change)

12 pages, 776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change Effects on the Predicted Heat Strain and Labour Capacity of Outdoor Workers in Australia

by Andrew P. Hunt, Matt Brearley, Andrew Hall and Rodney Pope

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(9), 5675; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095675 - 28 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2587

Abstract

Global heating is subjecting more of the planet to longer periods of higher heat stress categories commonly employed to determine safe work durations. This study compared predicted worker heat strain and labour capacity for a recent normal climate (1986–2005) and under commonly applied climate scenarios for the 2041–2080 period for selected Australian locations. Recently published heat indices for northern (Darwin, Townsville, and Tom Price) and south-eastern coastal and inland Australia locations (Griffith, Port Macquarie, and Clare) under four projected climate scenarios, comprising two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and two time periods, 2041–2060 and 2061–2080, were used. Safe work durations, before the threshold for core temperature (38.0 °C) or sweat loss (5% body mass) are attained, were then estimated for each scenario using the predicted heat strain model (ISO7933). The modelled time to threshold core temperature varied with location, climate scenario, and metabolic rate. Relative to the baseline (1986–2005), safe work durations (labour capacity) were reduced by >50% in Port Macquarie and Griffith and by 20–50% in northern Australia. Reaching the sweat loss limit restricted safe work durations in Clare and Griffith. Projected future climatic conditions will adversely impact the predicted heat strain and labour capacity of outdoor workers in Australia. Risk management strategies must adapt to warming conditions to protect outdoor workers from the deleterious effects of heat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Health, Performance and Climate Change)

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Review

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35 pages, 1392 KiB

Open AccessReview

Impacts of Climate Change on Work Health and Safety in Australia: A Scoping Literature Review

by Lucia Wuersch, Alain Neher, Frank E. Marino, Larissa Bamberry and Rodney Pope

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(21), 7004; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20217004 - 31 Oct 2023

Viewed by 1645

Abstract

This scoping review explores the extant literature on climate change impacts on Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) in Australia. It maps the coverage of climate hazards, occupations at risk, and health and socio-economic impacts with the aim of identifying climate change impacts on WHS in Australia and associated knowledge gaps. We used a scoping review approach to identify and investigate 41 scholarly works at the nexus between climate change and WHS in Australia. Thematic template analysis and the NVivo software helped us identify and structure the main themes and systematically document the analysis process. The review highlighted a research focus on the impacts on WHS of heat and extreme weather events resulting from climate change. Agriculture and construction emerged as the most examined occupations, emphasising climate-related diseases and productivity loss. Other climate-related hazards, occupations, and health and socio-economic impacts were largely overlooked in the included research literature. The analysis revealed there is scope for further research relating to climate change impacts on occupational hazards (e.g., air pollution), occupations (e.g., indoor settings at risk), worker health (e.g., injuries), and socio-economic impacts (e.g., change in social practice). Furthermore, the results highlight that the main themes (hazards, occupations, health, and productivity) are interconnected, and the impacts of climate change can be ‘cascading’, adding complexity and severity. Hence, it is important to look at WHS as a multifaceted phenomenon in a holistic way to understand the risks and support required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Health, Performance and Climate Change)

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