KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 ― Productivity levels in Malaysia could fall by as much as 24 per cent in the next three decades due to rising temperatures and humidity due to climate change, according to research firm Verisk Maplecroft.

The Guardian reported that the UK-based firm found that the change in weather is likely to increase the number of days with unsafe “heat stress”, putting southeast Asian countries at great risk of significant drops in productivity.

“Climate change will push heat stress impacts to boiling point, with significant implications for both national economies and the health of vulnerable workers,” James Allan, the firm's head of environment was quoted as saying.

Allan said countries in the region could lose an average of 16 per cent of its labour capacity by 2045 due to rising heat stress, which could cause absenteeism due to dizziness, fatigue, nausea and even death in extreme cases.

The region’s two most advanced economies, however, are expected to be the hardest hit with a 25 per cent drop in productivity projected for Singapore followed by Malaysia in a close second.

Indonesia can also expect a significant drop of 21 per cent in productivity levels. Cambodia and the Philippines will potentially see productivity go down by 16 per cent while Thailand and Vietnam are expected to experience a 12 per cent dip in output.

According to The Guardian, the company used climate projections to calculate the drop in labour capacity, based on the occurrence of conditions that prompt heat stress and leave workers unable to perform physical activity.

It said by 2045 the number of heat stress days in  Malaysia and Singapore will rise to 364 (from 338 and 335 respectively); to 355 from 303 in Indonesia; and to 337 from 276 in the Philippines.

Calculating potential lost productivity for 1,300 cities, the company also found 45 of the 50 highest risk cities were in southeast Asia, including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta.

Twenty of the 50 highest risk cities are in Malaysia, 13 in Indonesia, four in the Philippines and three are in Thailand.