Workers’ health under climate change: Agrochemicals

datavis
Climate change
Workers Health
Tableau
Series of ten infographics describing the main risks to workers’ health related to climate change and the environment International Labour Organization (ILO) 2024
Author
Affiliation

Edgar Rodriguez-Huerta

University of Nottingham, Rights Lab

Published

February 6, 2026

Modified

February 6, 2026

Effect of agrochemicals workers’ health

Short-term health effects include dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, reduced cognitive function, and increased risk of occupational injuries due to fatigue and impaired concentration. These immediate impacts can lower productivity and raise accident rates, often without adequate access to rest, shade, or potable water.

Long-term exposure to excessive heat is associated with chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular strain, worsening respiratory conditions, and long-lasting impacts on mental health. Repeated heat stress can also accelerate physical wear, shorten working lives, and increase economic insecurity among already vulnerable workers.

Addressing heat stress through regulation, social protection, and workplace adaptation is essential to ensure decent work, protect health, and sustain agricultural livelihoods in a warming climate.

Our Agrochemicals Score

Agrochemicals score is estimated by integrating two indicators: Application of pesticides 1, and Pesticides Risk Score 2.

Data visualization summarizes the analysis of excessive heat in Brazil, disaggregated by municipality, population, and crops, to identify spatial differences and heat stress hotspots across dimensions. By translating complex climate and socio-environmental data into accessible visual formats, data visualization supports better decision-making, enabling targeted interventions, risk prioritization, and policies that advance decent work in agriculture.

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Footnotes

  1. Ormaza-Zulueta, N., Mehrabi, Z., 2025. Global inequality in environmental conditions underpinning human rights. Environ. Res. Commun. 7, 095017. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ae0407↩︎

  2. Tang, F.H.M., Lenzen, M., McBratney, A., Maggi, F., 2021. Risk of pesticide pollution at the global scale. Nat. Geosci. 14, 206–210. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00712-5↩︎

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