Middle East construction workers face health risk under extreme heat

Last June, authorities imposed a “summer hours working ban” to protect construction workers from the extreme summer heat. Labourers were only allowed to work three to four hours in midday.

The ban was lifted in Qatar last week. UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain will soon follow suit and end it next week.

However, even after the ban is lifted, Dr. Atta Alkaznaji, a neurologist at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi says that labourers are still at risk to get heatstroke and dehydration.

Dr. Alkaznaji explained to Arabian Business if the body is exposed to temperatures above 33C (and combined with humidity levels of above 80%) – the body’s normal cooling mechanisms fail. The body will then overheat with symptoms including: swelling, low blood pressure, organ damage, fatigue and sickness.

“When we have direct exposure to the sun for more than three to four hours we are at higher risk of health issues,” he said. “Most of the construction labourers working outside are healthy, but they should take measures to mitigate the risk, such as drinking lots of water and staying out of the sun in the middle of the day.”

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Category: Features, Health alert