A contractor uses a saw to cut siding for a house under construction in Walnut Creek, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 17, 2021. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Extreme heat is becoming such a big threat to workers in the US that the federal government plans to craft a new federal standard for workplaces, the Biden administration announced today. It’s part of a broader initiative to protect workers and people living in the places most vulnerable to heat-related illness and death.
“Over the past few weeks, I have traveled across the country to see firsthand the devastating human and economic toll of extreme weather exacerbated by climate change,” Joe Biden said in a statement today. “And while we have all seen the graphic and heart-wrenching images of super-storms, wildfires, and floods in recent weeks, another climate disaster is lurking just below the radar: extreme heat.”
