By Samantha Fields
It’s been a hot summer in much of the country so far. July was the third hottest on record for the country, according to National Centers for Environmental Information. And there’s another heat wave hitting parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California this week.
“If you’re working in a large warehouse, or if you’re a UPS truck driver, or if you’re doing construction, you’re directly exposed to really high temperatures,” said Amir Jina, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.
Extreme heat isn’t just uncomfortable, Jina said. “It can also make you more sluggish, it can make you more prone to errors, it can affect your health.”
The threshold where heat starts to really affect how well people can focus and work, is roughly 90 degrees. “Above that, we just start to see the hours that people work being eaten away,” Jina said.