The Impacts of Climate Change on Occupational Health and Work Among Outdoor Workers: A Scoping Review

This scoping review shows that climate change is already reshaping the realities of outdoor work. Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental instability are affecting not only workers’ physical health, but also their mental well-being, productivity, and economic security. Outdoor workers in sectors such as agriculture, construction, and mining are particularly vulnerable, facing a growing burden of heat-related illness, fatigue, injuries, stress, and reduced work capacity. The review makes clear that climate change is no longer only an environmental issue; it is a major occupational health challenge that demands stronger workplace protections, policy action, and long-term adaptation strategies.

Summary

The study concludes that climate change is having substantial and interconnected effects on the health, safety, and productivity of outdoor workers.

The review found that rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions are linked to growing mental health pressures, including stress, anxiety, and depression-like symptoms among workers exposed to heat and environmental uncertainty.

Physical health risks were even more widely documented, especially heat-related illnesses, dehydration, fatigue, kidney strain, and a higher likelihood of workplace injury due to impaired concentration and physical exhaustion.

Climate change was also shown to reduce productivity, increase absenteeism, shorten working hours, and contribute to labour shortages and wider economic losses.

The major finding of the review is that climate-related occupational harm operates across three overlapping domains: mental health, physical health, and work performance. Rather than acting independently, these dimensions reinforce one another. Heat exposure can increase physical fatigue and illness, which then reduces work capacity, increases stress, and heightens the risk of injury. In turn, workplace pressure to maintain productivity in unsafe conditions can worsen both mental and physical strain.

A particularly strong insight from the review is that outdoor workers often face not only environmental exposure, but also organizational and social pressures that make adaptation difficult. Many workers reported pressure from supervisors to continue working despite dangerous heat, while some workplaces lacked adequate cooling, hydration, rest breaks, or protective procedures. This suggests that the occupational risks of climate change are shaped as much by management practices and labour conditions as by temperature itself.

Overall, the review argues that climate change is becoming a defining occupational health issue for outdoor workers worldwide. While the evidence base has grown, especially around heat-related physical harm, targeted interventions remain limited and inconsistent. The paper emphasizes the need for stronger occupational standards, better heat stress management, improved monitoring systems, and policies that protect vulnerable workers from escalating climate-related risks.

Aim & Context

The study explores how climate change affects occupational health and work among outdoor workers.

It focuses on workers who are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards such as extreme heat, changing weather patterns, and related climate stressors.

The authors aim to synthesize existing evidence on how climate change influences physical health, mental health, and work-related outcomes, while also identifying knowledge gaps and areas where workplace and policy interventions are needed.

Methodology

A scoping review design was used.

The review followed the PRISMA-ScR framework and was registered with the Open Science Framework.

The authors systematically searched four major databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO.

Eligible studies were peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2000 and 2024 that examined links between climate change and occupational health outcomes in employed adults aged 18 to 65.

A total of 5,251 records were screened, 160 full texts were reviewed, and 62 studies were ultimately included.

The included studies covered 26 countries and used a mix of quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and quasi-experimental designs.

Key Findings

1. Mental Health Effects

Climate change was associated with anxiety, depression-related symptoms, and psychological distress among outdoor workers.

Workers reported sadness, fear, frustration, discouragement, and hopelessness linked to fluctuating temperatures, drought, and environmental uncertainty.

Stress was a major theme, often intensified by concerns about financial loss, safety, family well-being, and pressure to maintain productivity in extreme conditions.

The review also found that workplace culture and supervisor behaviour can worsen mental strain when workers feel unable to slow down, take breaks, or prioritize safety.

2. Physical Health Effects

Physical health impacts were the most widely reported outcomes across the included studies.

Common risks included heat-related illness, dehydration, heat exhaustion, headaches, muscle cramps, skin problems, hypertension, weakness, and kidney strain.

Fatigue was also a recurring issue, with workers reporting slower pace, reduced concentration, more mistakes, and less energy both at work and in personal life.

The review identified a strong link between heat exposure and occupational injuries, as extreme temperatures can impair cognitive and motor performance and raise accident risk.

3. Work and Productivity Effects

Climate change had major consequences for work performance and labour capacity.

Higher heat exposure was consistently associated with lower productivity, longer task completion times, lost work hours, absenteeism, and reduced earnings.

Some studies cited in the review showed severe losses in labour productivity and working time in heat-exposed regions, with broader economic impacts including GDP losses and labour shortages.

The review also found that many workplaces remain underprepared, with insufficient safeguards and a tendency in some settings to prioritize output over worker safety.

4. Interconnected Risks

A key contribution of the review is its demonstration that physical health, mental health, and work outcomes are deeply interconnected.

Heat can directly harm the body, while also increasing mental stress and reducing performance.

At the same time, pressure to keep working despite unsafe conditions can deepen both physical and psychological harm.

This makes climate-related occupational risk a systems issue rather than a single hazard problem.

Takeaways for Practice

• Outdoor workforces need stronger protection from extreme heat and climate-related hazards through enforceable occupational standards on hydration, rest breaks, and exposure limits.
• Heat stress management should become a central part of occupational health strategy, including monitoring systems, cooling measures, better ventilation, and more adaptive work scheduling.
• Organizations should address mental health as well as physical safety, recognizing that environmental stress, financial insecurity, and productivity pressure all affect worker well-being.
• Supervisor training is critical so that frontline management supports safe work practices rather than unintentionally reinforcing unsafe productivity norms.
• Future research should expand beyond outdoor workers alone, include longer-term studies, and work toward consistent definitions and measurement of heat-related illness and occupational climate risk.

Read the full research study here:

The impacts of climate change on occupational health and work among outdoor workers: A scoping review. Behdin Nowrouzi-Kia 1,2,3,4*, Charlene Choi1, Raihana Premji1,Aishvinigaa Sathananthan1, Kishana Balakrishnar 1, Alexia Haritos1,Bao-Zhu Stephanie Long1, Maryna Mazur1, Ali-Bani Fatemi1 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0005888