High temperatures mean more workplace injuries, study finds

With hotter temperatures come more heat-related workplace injuries — about 28,000 injuries each year, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Environmental Health.

Scientists have long warned of climate change-driven extreme heat and its dangers to health. Studies have shown extreme heat can cause fatigue, poorer coordination and reduced attention. Put together, these physical and cognitive effects increase the likelihood of workplace injuries, wrote the researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health.

The researchers analyzed roughly 845,000 injuries documented by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration across 48 states in 2023. They compared the likelihood of wo