According to a recent study, climate change might cause a major reduction in labour productivity in nations such as India and Pakistan, potentially reaching 40% by the end of the century.
This decline poses a threat to global food production since workers' capacity to plant, till, and harvest crops is predicted to reduce as heat exposure increases.
The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, made use of computational models built at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. These models estimated physical work capacity (PWC) for several climate change scenarios. PWC is defined as a person's labour capacity in comparison to an environment free of heat stress.
According to the research, physical work capacity in Southeast and South Asia, West and Central Africa, and northern South America might be reduced by up to 70%. The lead researcher, Gerald Nelson of the University of Illinois, highlights that climate change affects not only crops and cattle, but also the people who depend on agriculture.
According to the report, half of the world's farmland farmers are already working at less than 86% capacity due to current climate circumstances (1991–2010). To overcome this issue, the researchers investigated possible adaptations. Switching to evening or shaded work to decrease direct solar radiation was found as a strategy for increasing worker productivity by 5-10%. Increasing the use of mechanical machinery and equipment, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where agricultural operations require intense physical labour, could also be an effective approach. The report highlighted the importance of tackling climate change's effects on agricultural labourers in order to secure global food security.
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Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master, it was rightly said. Electronic devices have grown into an inevitable part of our daily lives.
