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Assessing the Effects of Climate Change on Vulnerability to Poverty: the Case of Heat Waves and Construction Workers in Egypt
“Doomsday, humanity’s extinction, the end of days”. Apocalyptic adjectives abound to highlight the danger looming over the planet, as the earth is warming up due to global warming and climate change. The picture painted over the canvas has consistently projected a gloomy image of low-income countrie...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2024
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| Summary: | “Doomsday, humanity’s extinction, the end of days”. Apocalyptic adjectives abound to highlight the danger looming over the planet, as the earth is warming up due to global warming and climate change. The picture painted over the canvas has consistently projected a gloomy image of low-income countries and of the poor. As the earth is gently boiling with heat, low-income groups in the Global South are predicted to be most affected. However, most of such warnings and studies focused on sectors directly dependent on suitable weather conditions such as agriculture, and sea tourism. While the climatic phenomena of heat waves may occur naturally, its increased frequency and magnitude induces Wet Bulb Temperatures (WBT), which represent the temperature of the human body under both heat and humidity. This study adopts a mixed methods approach and thoroughly dissects how increased Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT) affects the socioeconomic well-being of construction workers. The main variable of interest is the income of the construction worker. Additional data from the literature informed the addition of household food and health expenditure. The analysis reveals that increased WBT has an insignificant effect on construction workers who have a contract. However, the income of workers who are self-employed with daily targets is negatively and significantly affected by increased WBT. The analysis further shows a significant effect of WBT on households' food expenditure. These effects generate a vicious cycle trapping the construction worker in poverty and precarity. Contrary to the literature, construction workers’ health in Egypt appears not to be affected by the increased WBT. Both the quantitative and qualitative data align in the same direction. Targeted interventions could contribute to breaking the vicious cycle generated by increased WBT to salvage the gloomy faith of the poor in the face of a boiling planet. |
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