Worker Rest Breaks Double by 2050 as Climate Warms: NOAA

People working in jobs without air conditioning will need to take breaks twice as often by 2050 to avoid heat stress amid a warming climate, according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Losses in labor capacity, or the ability to work safely in warm conditions, will double by mid-century assuming global temperatures rise by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the study published yesterday in Nature Climate Change. Temperatures have risen 0.7 degrees since before the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s.“The planet will start experiencing heat stress that’s unlike anything experienced today,” Ronald Stouffer, a physical scientist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey, and co-author of the report, said on a conference call with reporters. “The world is entering a very different environment and the impact on labor will be significant.”
The study, which covers work outdoors at night and in the shade and indoor work without air conditioning, uses guidelines set by industry and the military for a safe workplace in hot conditions. Today, people working when temperatures peak must rest about 10 percent of their working time. That will double to 20 percent by 2050, according to the study.

Full Story: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-02-24/worker-rest-breaks-double-by-2050-as-climate-warms-noaa