Scorching heat and no breaks for workers, the complaint on the COP28 construction sites in Dubai:the first on climate change and health

According to a report by the Fair Square association, the workers were forced to continue despite this violating a UAE law that requires them to stop during the hottest hours of the day

In Dubai during September temperatures reached 42 degrees, but this did not stop construction contractors building the structures that will host Cop28 - the 28th United Nations conference - from forcing workers to work tirelessly despite the excessive heat.On the other hand, the opening of the conference is just 39 days away and this is not the time to stop.Even if continuing means breaking a UAE law that prevents you from working during the hottest hours of the day during the summer months.This is what emerges from a report by Fair Square, an investigative association which found that, on at least two occasions at the beginning of September, on three different construction sites, workers were not allowed to stop between 12.30pm and 3pm.“I thought I was going to die every second I spent outside, but we have to make a living somehow,” one of them said.«My head is pounding and I feel faint.Like everyone.This weather is not suitable for humans,” added the worker.

By law, in the Emirates it is mandatory to give construction workers a 150-minute break during the hottest hours of the day so that heat stroke does not occur and health effects due to long-term exposure to extreme temperatures do not occur.The violation is particularly significant because it occurred on the construction sites of the first COP in which the link between climate change and health will be explored.«The connection between health and climate change is clear, but has not been a specific focus of the COP process so far.This must change" declared the president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, in September 2023, a few days after the breaches of the law.Contacted by Fair Square, the organizers of Cop28 said they were not aware of the practices denounced by the association.

Risks to workers' health

It is already known that rising global temperatures can lead to what the World Health Organization describes as “a cascade of disease” and other problems.These include heat cramps, where the muscles contract due to dehydration and loss of mineral salts, hyperthermia and heat stroke, until death.And even if workers don't immediately collapse, chronic exposure to this level of heat can create cumulative stress on the human body and risks exacerbating the impact of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and kidney disease.Various scientific research, specifies Fair Square, have linked high temperatures to an increased risk of death for migrant workers in neighboring Qatar and Kuwait.