Share of workers' earnings at risk due to temperatures above 100ºF in the U.S. 2050

Increasingly frequent extreme heat is estimated to heavily threaten both the health and livelihood of outdoor workers. By midcentury, temperatures surpassing 100ºF are forecast to endanger approximately 3.7 percent of the earnings of outdoor workers in the United States if slow action against global emissions is taken. This figure would represent an increase of roughly 363 percent in comparison to historical data. Under a no-action scenario, on the other hand, the earnings at risk would increase to some 5.2 percent. Furthermore, if no action against climate change is adopted, the number of outdoor workers affected by a heat index above 100ºF in the U.S. is estimated to amount to some 1.4 billion people per year.