Sri Lanka, Oct. 30 -- New findings from the International Labour Organization indicate that increasing workplace temperatures and heat stress present ongoing challenges for workers, productivity levels, and national economies. Projections suggest that reduced working time resulting from rising heat stress could reach the equivalent of approximately 147,000 full-time jobs across the two nations by the year 2040, with about 145,000 of those jobs affected in Sri Lanka. Concurrently, combined annual economic output losses are estimated to hit approximately $26.6 billion, including roughly $26 billion in Sri Lanka.

The agricultural sector faces the heaviest impact in Sri Lanka, followed by services, manufacturing, and construction. Country-sp...