UAE: How Companies Are Adapting To Work In Increasingly Hot Conditions

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

By midday in Dubai, the heat isn't just felt - it's navigated. The air wraps around you like plastic, thick with humidity and grit, turning basic tasks into slow, deliberate movements. Sunglasses fog. Water bottles warm. The beaches are patchy with visitors, the boardwalk sparsely populated, and only a few tourists venture into the water. Even the Gulf breeze arrives overheated, as if passing over a stovetop. Construction cranes hang still above vacant lots, the usual clamour of machinery replaced by silence. On the roads, Careem and Talabat riders pass by, shirts soaked, asphalt steaming well before noon.

What was once dismissed as“just summer” now reads like a stress test - not just for outdoor workers, but for the companies relying on them to keep their operations running.

Recommended For You UAE launches largest water supply project from Egypt to southern Gaza UAE: Yellow alert issued for dust till 5pm, authorities warn of low visibility Dubai commercial property vacancy rate hits all-time low as businesses flock in

From June 15 through September 15, the UAE's Midday Break pauses outdoor labour during peak heat hours. Companies violating regulations could be fined Dh5,000 for every worker per breach, up to a maximum of Dh50,000, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. In most Gulf countries, including the UAE, there are between 100 and 150 days per year when daily highs exceed 40°C, underscoring how extreme heat has become a constant, not a seasonal anomaly, according to a joint study by the Vital Signs Partnership and Human Rights Watch.

This year, with temperatures projected to top 50°C in some areas of the UAE, companies in construction, delivery, and logistics aren't just following mandates - they're rethinking how to function altogether.

Globally, workers in outdoor-heavy sectors, such as agriculture and construction, lose more than two weeks of labour each year to heat stress, according to Climate Interactive, a US-based think tank focused on climate modelling. But because it could take decades for the climate to respond to new policies, even aggressive heat adaptation policies implemented today in the UAE won't significantly reduce outdoor labour losses until the 2040s.

The economics are just as stark. A climate resilience report by PwC projects that the region's real GDP could grow by 41.8% by 2035. However, experts warn that when factoring in climate threats - including extreme heat, water scarcity, and flooding - growth drops by 13.9 percentage points, down to 27.9%. The cost of inaction isn't abstract; it's a drag on productivity, earnings, and investor confidence.

The warning signs are hard to miss. According to a recent working paper by experts at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-an intergovernmental body that tracks global economic trends and advises on policy-heat stress is among the most pressing labour challenges tied to climate change. The paper estimates that each additional 10 days above 35°C in a year can reduce firm-level labour productivity by roughly 0.3%, while a single 5-day heatwave can cut it by 0.2%.

That may sound small, but it compounds quickly: in the Gulf, where more than 100 days a year regularly surpass 40°C, cumulative losses can approach 3% annually for exposed sectors. To put that in perspective: if just half of the UAE's ~$500 billion economy is tied to outdoor-heavy industries like construction, logistics, and delivery, that's an estimated $7.5 billion in productivity lost each year to extreme heat alone. In a country where such conditions are no longer an exception but a seasonal norm, those losses aren't theoretical. They're a growing drag on real output. For industries that rely heavily on outdoor work, this isn't just a weather problem - it's an economic one.

“Heat-related illness is a hazard for anyone working outdoors during the UAE summer - and if left untreated, it can be fatal,” said Najeeba Al Jabri, Chief ESG & Sustainability Officer at Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the country's largest industrial company outside the oil and gas sector.“It is, however, entirely preventable.”

At EGA, where smelting operations can't shut down and generate high levels of heat year-round, summer protocols are built into daily operations, making the company something of a blueprint for heat resilience in the region's industrial sector.“Our industrial processes generate additional heat and can't be shut down,” Al Jabri said.

“That's why we go all-in on prevention.”

The company's“Beat the Heat” programme - now in its second decade - includes hydration tests before and during shifts, scheduled cooling breaks, access to cold showers, and dedicated rest zones at its facilities. This year, EGA introduced full-body cooling units at select sites and medical centres to provide rapid, non-invasive relief. The approach appears to be working: since 2021, the company hasn't recorded a single heat-related illness.

“The vast majority of our operational areas are covered and shaded year-round. For the limited areas that are not, we fully comply with the UAE's midday break requirements,” Al Jabri said.

In the delivery sector, however, where work rarely pauses, companies like Careem are treating heat like an infrastructure problem. The company has expanded its seasonal response with air-conditioned, solar-powered mobile rest stations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah - part of a partnership with the MAJRA National CSR Fund now serving over 60,000 delivery riders, regardless of employer, according to Bassel Al Nahlaoui, the Careem's Chief Business Officer.

“Careem has also set up cold water dispensers in key delivery zones,” Al Nahlaoui said. Delivery drivers receive“Captain Kits” stocked with cooling towels, reusable water bottles, sunscreen, and hydration supplements - essential gear for frontline work in 45°C heat. Unlike other sectors, delivery platforms aren't bound by the UAE's midday break rule. That makes internal safeguards all the more critical.“We empower delivery captains with flexible scheduling,” said Al Nahlaoui, noting that riders can shift hours to avoid peak heat.

Many captains temporarily leave the country during peak summer. But for those who stay, Careem has added free medical screenings through its renewed partnership with the Pakistan Medical Center. Careem has also heavily leaned on technology. Its driver app now displays nearby rest zones with turn-by-turn navigation. Heat maps, fatigue analytics, and real-time traffic tools help optimise delivery routes and flag high-risk patterns early. The company is even using gentle nudges in its app, asking users to offer cold water or tip generously during heat waves.

“Technology alone is not enough to avert the risk of heat-related illnesses. Authentic leadership that prioritises safety, effective awareness programmes, and a safety-first culture that empowers individuals to take action and equips them to do so – these factors are all key,” Al Jabri said.

Technology, however, is doing more than just routing drivers or reminding customers to tip. At Emirates Global Aluminium, it's being worn. Since 2022, the company has piloted the Kenzen wearable strap, which offers an industrial-grade system designed to monitor real-time physiological indicators such as core body temperature, heart rate, and hydration levels, on hundreds of employees. This summer, around 300 workers volunteered to wear these devices as part of EGA's“Beat the Heat” initiative.

But EGA is still an outlier. Kenzen's industrial-grade monitors offer a promising solution - but they remain limited in scope. This is mostly due to the fact that the technology isn't cheap. Kenzen operates on a rental model, typically in bundles of 10–50 units, and is primarily used in highly controlled industrial environments, not fragmented, fast-moving sectors like food delivery. While the sensors offer lab-grade accuracy, their deployment demands training, real-time supervision, and medical staff to interpret the data. That adds logistical and financial strain, especially for companies operating with thin margins or decentralised workforces.

Personal monitoring is one key component. But across Dubai, researchers are asking a bigger question: what if the environment itself could be redesigned to reduce risk? Dr. Wael Sheta, an Assistant Professor at The British University in Dubai and a specialist in climate resilience and sustainable design, has spent the last several years studying how Dubai's built environment affects heat exposure, particularly for migrant workers living in high-density accommodations. His research spans both indoor and outdoor conditions, combining field measurements with simulations to test how layout, vegetation, and local materials influence“thermal comfort” and productivity.

But Sheta's also investigating how design interventions-such as shaded pathways, buffer green zones, and the use of native plant species-can reduce heat stress in dense industrial areas, including Al Quoz and Jebel Ali. More shade and improved airflow can lower surface temperatures, enhance pedestrian comfort, and reduce the physiological toll of daily work in exposed conditions, Sheta said.

“Vegetation helps reduce ambient temperatures significantly by providing shade, which directly lowers the heat exposure,” he explains in reference to worksites and walkable zones. He adds that certain plant types, such as“local deciduous tree species,” are beneficial, not only for shading but for“reflecting and scattering solar radiation throughout the year.”

For now, the growing number of midday rest shelters across Dubai is one of the most visible signs the city is taking heat stress seriously, Sheta says. “Many researchers should begin evaluating this experiment by conducting wide-ranging surveys among the labourers,” Sheta said, noting the need for better data to understand what's working and where gaps remain.

Sheta sees this as the central challenge: regulation and research have not yet caught up to a lived reality.“Bridging the gap between academic research and industry application is essential to transform pilot studies and conceptual innovations into real-world, impactful projects,” he says. For him, the next phase of climate adaptation in labour-heavy industries won't hinge on a single innovation.“Integration - of policy, technology, research, and stakeholder collaboration - will characterise the next stage of climate adaptation in Gulf labour-intensive industries.”

In the Gulf, the real challenge isn't just working through the heat - it's keeping up with it.

MENAFN17072025000049011007ID1109815471