"From the Philippines to Mali, countries fail to count deaths from extreme heat"

... From the Philippines to India and Mali, a lack of reliable data on heat-related deaths is undermining efforts to mitigate the risk of extreme heat and provide better protection for the most vulnerable, like outdoor migrant and gig workers.

Globally, 2.41 billion workers, or 70% of the world's workforce, are exposed to excessive heat, with people in Africa, Arab states and the Asia and Pacific region facing the highest exposure, according to a July report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). This causes nearly 19,000 deaths a year, the ILO said.

Collecting accurate data to inform government policy on reducing exposure to extreme heat is more urgent than ever…

In the Philippines, where a two-week heat wave in April forced schools to shut, seven heat-related deaths and 77 heat-related illnesses were reported from January to May this year, according to health ministry data.

Labor union activist Lucas Ortega said such figures do not reflect the risk of heat stress that workers face.

"We know we have thousands of delivery riders, construction and maintenance workers, street cleaners and workers from different industries," said Ortega, a spokesperson for the Center of United and Progressive Workers in the Philippines. "But we don't know how many of them were exposed to extreme heat," he said…