Occupational Safety & Health · Hazards

Heat and climate risks at work

Rising temperatures, outdoor work and the absence of heat rules — a growing hazard for Georgia's farmers and builders.

Last updated: 3 October 2026

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Overview

The ILO estimates that excessive heat causes 22.85 million occupational injuries and 18,970 deaths a year worldwide, and that climate change creates a combination of serious health hazards for 70% of the world's workers (ILO, 2025). In Georgia the most exposed groups are outdoor workers in agriculture and construction — together about 340,000 people in 2025 (Geostat) — and workers in hot indoor environments such as kitchens, foundries and glasshouses. Georgian labour law contains no specific rules on work in high temperatures.

Key figures

22.85 million

Occupational injuries attributable to excessive heat each year, worldwide

ILO (2025)

18,970

Deaths from excessive heat at work each year, worldwide

ILO (2025)

70%

Share of the world's workers exposed to climate-related health hazards

ILO (2025)

≈340,000

Georgian workers in agriculture and construction, the most heat-exposed sectors, 2025

Geostat

What heat does to workers

Heat stress occurs when heat from the environment and physical effort exceed the body's capacity to regulate its temperature, causing dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke; it also raises the risk of accidents through reduced concentration, and of kidney disease with repeated exposure. Vulnerability is higher for older workers, workers with chronic disease and those doing heavy physical work. See the dictionary entry Heat stress.

Rules and good practice

What exists
Level	Instrument	Status
ILO	Convention No. 155 and the Global Strategy on OSH 2024–2030 (climate hazards addressed in the 2025 EU–ILO partnership)	Georgia has not ratified No. 155
EU	No heat-specific directive; the Framework Directive 89/391/EEC requires risk assessment, and EU-OSHA publishes heat guidance	Framework Directive not yet transposed by Georgia
Georgia	Organic Law on Occupational Safety: general duty to assess risks; no temperature thresholds, rest or hydration rules	In force; no heat-specific provisions

Measures recognised internationally include shaded rest breaks, drinking water, shifting heavy work to cooler hours, acclimatisation for new workers, and monitoring with the wet-bulb globe temperature index.

Public health perspective (WHO)

Heat at work is where the labour and health frames meet most directly: WHO treats extreme heat as a public health emergency with heat–health action plans and early warning systems, while the ILO quantifies the occupational burden (22.85 million injuries and 18,970 deaths a year). Kidney disease from repeated heat exposure among outdoor workers is a recognised emerging occupational disease. Georgia has neither a heat–health action plan for workers nor heat rules at work. Workers' health: the public health perspective.

Data gaps

No Georgian data on heat-related occupational illness or on days of extreme heat at work.
Accident reports do not record temperature as a contributing factor.
Summer guidance for employers and the recording of temperature in accident investigations are practices adopted elsewhere in Europe.

Sources

ILO (2025). EU–ILO partnership: safe and healthy workplaces for all (climate-related hazard estimates). www.ilo.org
ILO. Safety and health at work (topic portal). www.ilo.org
Geostat (2026). Employment by economic activity. www.geostat.ge
ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. www.etf.europa.eu

Figures are from the GILS Evidence Register and the official sources shown. GILS is independent of government, trade unions, employers' organisations and the ILO.