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U.N. urges heat action plans, cooling access and worker protections amid El Niño
Summary
The U.N. Secretary‑General outlined four priority responses to extreme heat—protect people, make work safer, retrofit infrastructure, and stop new fossil fuel expansion—and called for early warnings, sustainable cooling and heat standards for workplaces.
The Secretary‑General told reporters the world must act on four fronts to reduce heat‑related harm: "protecting people before it becomes deadlier," making work safer, building and retrofitting cities and infrastructure for heat, and stopping the expansion of fossil fuels that makes future heat waves more dangerous.
He urged that every city and country adopt heat action plans, early warning systems and public‑health measures that reach vulnerable communities, and he called for expanded access to sustainable cooling. Using the garment industry as an example, he said more than 90,000,000 workers — mostly women — are exposed and that governments and employers should set heat standards and adjust hours and protections when conditions become dangerous.
