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Transcript/Script HEATWAVES - CLIMATE - ECONOMY
HEADLINE: Climate-Driven Heat Waves Increasing Inequality
TEASER: Extreme heat doesn’t just sap people's strength, it drains people's finances too
PUBLISHED AT: 5/24/2022 AT 6:34p
BYLINE: Steve Baragona
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR: Steve Baragona
SCRIPT EDITORS: Holly Franko, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Skype, AFP,
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:29
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO: ))
[[March and April were the hottest or near-hottest months on record across South Asia. And climate change made this heat wave 100 times more likely, the U.K. Met Office says. Heat waves like these don't just sap people's strength; they drain people's finances in not always obvious ways —just another example of how climate change is weighing on the economy and making poor people poorer. VOA's Steve Baragona has more.]]
((NARRATOR))
The heat has been brutal for construction workers, farmworkers and anyone working outside. That's about half the workforce in South Asia.
But not working is not an option for many, like Indian construction worker Kushilal Mandal.
((Kushilal Mandal, Construction Worker)) (male, 35 years old, Hindi, 8 sec) ((AFP))
"Even if it’s very hot, we still have to work. We won’t be able to eat if we don’t work. Wage laborers like us work despite the heat."
((NARRATOR))
At these temperatures, heat stroke and even death are real risks for people working outside.
Many work sites shut down early. But that means lost wages.
Hours lost to heat are on the rise worldwide. In 2030, a U.N. report says, they will add up to the equivalent of 80 million full-time jobs.
((Teevrat Garg, University of California, San Diego)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"These effects are global, they are pronounced, and they are persistent."
((NARRATOR))
Teevrat Garg, an economist at the University of California, San Diego says it doesn't take a full work stoppage to hurt workers' wages. People just can’t do as much when it's hot.
((Teevrat Garg, University of California, San Diego) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"It's not about workers feeling icky or lazy or just like 'I don't want to work because it's hot.' It's that heat is representing binding constraints on workers' ability to do their job."
((NARRATOR))
It's not just outdoor work that suffers in the heat, says World Bank economist Patrick Behrer.
((Patrick Behrer, World Bank)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"We think of manufacturing as a thing that occurs inside. But inside doesn't mean protected from heat. It doesn't mean air conditioning."
((NARRATOR))
He says heat affects workers even if they are not exerting themselves.
((Patrick Behrer, World Bank)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"It's harder for you to pay attention. It's harder for you to focus. You get tired more easily. And so all of those things feed through to reductions in productivity."
((NARRATOR))
And Behrer says there's more on the line than lost wages.
((Patrick Behrer, World Bank)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"Because you're paying less attention to what you're doing or you're more tired, you're much more likely to injure yourself."
((NARRATOR))
Experts say society will adapt to hotter temperatures. Air conditioning makes a big difference.
But that's money companies won't spend on better equipment, or hiring more workers, Garg says.
((Teevrat Garg, University of California, San Diego)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"Adaptation is not free. It's expensive. It's costly. And in general we find that the poorer you are, the more expensive it is."
((NARRATOR))
As the heat rises, Garg says countries will need social safety net programs to lessen the effects on poor people.
((Teevrat Garg, University of California Economist)) ((Mandatory CG: Skype))
"When we think about climate investments, we're thinking about seawalls and we're thinking about green energy. And all of that's quite important. But it's also important to remember that social protection programs and safety nets are going to play a huge role for low- and middle-income populations."
((NARRATOR))
Experts say inequality is rising along with temperatures.
((STEVE BARAGONA, VOA NEWS))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 24, 2022 19:49 EDT
Byline((STEVE BARAGONA, VOA NEWS))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
