US workplace injuries caused by heat severely undercounted, study shows

By using a narrow definition of heat-related injuries federal and state agencies miss thousands of others

US government agencies are likely significantly undercounting the number of workplace injuries caused by extreme heat, according to new research.

Federal and state labor departments keep track of heat-related injuries, which include things like dehydration and heat strokes. But if a worker falls from a ladder because of heat-induced dizziness, it's typically not categorized as a heat-related injury. New research published this week shows that when those injuries are taken into account, the actual toll of heat on US workers is orders of magnitude higher than official counts.