Europe’s Heatwave Hits Workers and Businesses Hard

Spanish authorities are investigating the death of a street cleaning worker who succumbed this week amid Europe’s intense heatwave. Italy has banned outdoor work during the hottest hours, while France has closed schools and even restricted access to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

As Europe issues heat alerts for its citizens, the rising frequency of extreme temperatures raises a critical question: at what point does it become too dangerous to work?

On Tuesday, the French government issued a directive strengthening requirements for companies to protect employees from heat. Authorities warn that working in extreme heat “can increase the risk of workplace accidents, including severe or fatal incidents.”

According to the guidelines, French businesses must mitigate heat risks for all workers. In offices, this involves rearranging workspaces away from sunlit windows, enhancing ventilation, and providing ample water. Outdoor workers in construction, agriculture, and similar sectors are entitled to shorter shifts and heat-protective gear.

However, with air conditioning still uncommon across much of Europe, these challenges come with substantial economic costs. Beyond adapting workplaces to cope with heat, companies report business slowdowns as customers and tourists avoid stores lacking cooling systems.

The already strained power grid is increasingly prone to failures, disrupting train services and even plunging shops into darkness. On Wednesday, parts of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railway network halted as extreme heat endangered maintenance crews responsible for track safety.

With heatwaves and droughts arriving earlier and intensifying each summer, labor unions warn that workplace regulations are lagging behind what the United Nations has described as a new normal for Europe.

“We all see clearly in our daily lives that the climate is changing,” said Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. “Urgent legal updates are needed to prevent countless avoidable deaths each summer.”

Unions have called on European authorities to toughen labor protections after a 51-year-old woman collapsed at home in Barcelona following her street cleaning shift. Reports indicate she had texted a friend hours earlier describing pain in her arms, chest, and neck while working near Barcelona Cathedral under nearly 40°C conditions.

In Italy, labor groups highlighted the dangers of working outdoors amid oppressive heat after a construction worker died Monday near Bologna. A recent report from France’s Economic, Social and Environmental Council found that 40 percent of construction and transport workers feel the effects of global warming are harming them.

European farmers, waste collectors, and outdoor performers are also battling the heatwave. French farmers warned of heightened wildfire risks and shifted work schedules to nighttime hours. Approximately 1,400 French schools have temporarily closed due to the heat.

Heat-related workplace deaths in Europe have risen by 42 percent since 2000, according to the International Labour Organization. The European Trade Union Confederation plans to press EU leaders to require companies to allow workers to stop working when temperatures become hazardous.

High temperatures are also damaging businesses. British bakery chain Greggs reported a sharp drop in June sales, attributing it to record heat increasing demand for cold drinks but decreasing overall foot traffic.

At the Westfield Les Halles shopping center in Paris, a power outage on Tuesday afternoon caused several hours of darkness and disabled air conditioning in about a third of the complex’s cinemas.

Moviegoers queued for refunds or attempted to switch to cooler theaters, while shop assistants helped customers shop by the light of mobile phones. The line for the indoor swimming pool stretched for nearly a city block.

Economists warn that as heatwaves grow more severe, productivity will suffer. The International Labour Organization estimates heat stress will reduce global working hours by 2.2 percent, equivalent to losing 80 million full-time jobs.

Europe’s economy could lose half a percentage point of growth this year due to heatwaves, according to a recent report by the credit insurance division of German insurer Allianz.

“Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme temperatures, making heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires the ‘new normal,’ with widespread economic consequences,” the report stated.

Greece, Spain, and Italy are expected to be among the countries most affected. The insurer projects that between May 1 and July 14 this year, Spain will have experienced 52 days above 32°C, Italy 44 days, and Greece 43 days.