Editor\u2019s note: This is the first article in a two-part HR Dive series about the effects of climate change on worker health. Part two will focus on workplace safety strategies and the growing push by state and federal lawmakers to establish heat-safety standards.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sixteen million dollars, every hour. That\u2019s the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>global cost of climate change<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> between 2010 and 2019 as estimated by New Zealand-based researchers, a figure that amounts to $143 billion per year on average. By 2050, the annual cost could balloon to as much as $3.1 trillion.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Those numbers incorporate a boatload of data points. But when Tracy Watts, senior partner and national leader for U.S. health policy at HR consulting firm Mercer, and her colleagues looked for precise data that captured just how much climate change would cost the typical employer-sponsored health plan, they largely came up empty.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s historical data showing an increase in natural disasters thought to be exacerbated by climate change, Watts said. \u201cMost of the focus around that is more on sustainability, which is great, but we were wondering what impact this is having on human capital. And there wasn\u2019t really anything out there.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So Mercer and the National Commission on Climate and Workforce, an initiative of the Health Action Alliance, set about developing an online tool, the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Climate Health Cost Forecaster<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, to determine the long-term health costs associated with key climate-related \u201cperils,\u201d as Watts called them, that could account for a given employer\u2019s industry, location and workforce size.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Released last month, the forecaster combines weather data and epidemiological research with Mercer\u2019s own health claims database to project costs over a ten-year span. It hones in on four specific perils \u2014 extreme heat, poor air quality, flooding and hurricanes \u2014 because the developers felt they could make the strongest correlations between those particular scenarios and an individual\u2019s health, Watts said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The tool speaks to a real informational need, she continued, citing Mercer\u2019s late 2024 global survey which found that 77% of employees said they or a family member had been <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>negatively affected by climate events or extreme weather<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. Specific issues ranged from cost-of-living increases to decreased ability to access care to difficulty sleeping due to high temperatures.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Men on a four wheeler pass a storm-damaged house along Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 30, 2024, in Old Fort, N.C. Extreme weather events like floods can be linked to a number of medical conditions, according to researchers.<\/p>\n Sean Rayford via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Using scientific journals, Mercer and its co-developers identified specific medical conditions that could be linked to each of the forecaster\u2019s four perils. The process is straightforward in many examples: extreme heat can increase incidences of dehydration, heat stroke and cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, while poor air quality has a similar connection to respiratory ailments and allergic reactions.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But there are even more conditions for which the tool accounts, Watts said. Extreme heat alone can cause people who are pregnant to <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>prematurely go into labor<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, and it also can have a more detrimental effect on workers\u2019 dependents, especially children. Flooding can lead to physical injuries as well as vector-borne and waterborne diseases.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n % of global respondents who said they or a family member saw any of the following affected due to climate change or extreme weather events<\/p>\n![\"House](\"https:\/\/imgproxy.divecdn.com\/966kctdpQ2Ou9x_H5bKIyhy-FzpzjRrsGC6Mlp4nXlc\/g:ce\/rs:fit:1600:0\/Z3M6Ly9kaXZlc2l0ZS1zdG9yYWdlL2RpdmVpbWFnZS9HZXR0eUltYWdlcy0yMTc0OTY4ODY1LmpwZw==.webp\"\/)
<\/div>\n<\/div>A multifaceted \u2018threat multiplier\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Climate change spurs cost-of-living and health concerns globally<\/h4>\n