Climate Action
5 Jobs Already Being Transformed by Climate Change
August 27, 2025
Climate change isn’t just reshaping ecosystems; it’s reshaping the workforce. Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and shifting natural systems are forcing workers in diverse industries to adapt, sometimes drastically. While green jobs like solar panel installers and wind turbine technicians are growing, climate change is also directly impacting fields that few people associate with environmental shifts.
In fact, this shift is already influencing hiring trends. In a 2024 report, Linkedin noted that workers with at least one green skill are hired 29% more often than the average job seeker. It is now a necessity to have knowledge of the climate.
Here are five professions already feeling the heat (literally and figuratively) of climate change:
1. Professional Athletes
Extreme weather is no longer just a “game day” inconvenience. It’s becoming a defining challenge for athletes at all levels. Heat waves are forcing professional leagues to reschedule matches, shorten training sessions, and expand hydration breaks. In soccer, an NWSL game had to be postponed due to extreme heat. Similarly, the Australian Open has seen play halted due to dangerous heat indexes.
Teams worldwide are increasingly being forced to reschedule games to cooler hours, while wildfires and poor air quality in places like California have canceled practices entirely. As climate impacts accelerate, athletes’ safety and performance will increasingly be tied to how the industry adapts to extreme weather events.
2. Construction Workers
The construction industry is among the most vulnerable to weather extremes. Rising temperatures create unsafe working conditions on rooftops, highways, and other exposed job sites.
In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a United States federal agency under the Department of Labor, has reported spikes in heat related illnesses among builders, leading to stricter regulations on rest breaks but equally leading to productivity losses exceeding 30%.
Beyond heat, floods and storms damage infrastructure projects mid-build, costing both time and money. In fact, increased floods from climate change cost the U.S. alone between $179.8 and $496 billion a year. The climate crisis is taking our time, health, and our money.
3. Farmers and Agricultural Workers
Farmers are already contending with unpredictable growing seasons, prolonged droughts, and more frequent floods.
In fact, global crop yields are projected to decline significantly in the next decade. A major 2025 study analyzing 12,000 regions worldwide found staple crops like wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, barley, and cassava will suffer yield losses averaging 8% by 2050 and possibly up to 24% by 2100 under high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, despite farmer’s best adaptation efforts. Also, due to rising temperatures, crops like coffee and cacao are becoming harder to cultivate in traditional regions. How will we survive without chocolate!
Climbing temperatures also affects livestock. Heat stress occurs when high temperatures and humidity combine to prevent animals from effectively dissipating their body heat, leading to elevated core temperatures that can impair how their body functions.
For dairy cows, extreme heat reduces milk production by up to 10% , with effects lingering for over 10 days afterward. Cooling technologies (e.g., fans, misters) can only mitigate about half of this loss, meaning climate change is likely to cause long-term declines in dairy productivity. Beef cattle also suffer from heat stress, which lowers how much they eat, resulting in reduced growth of the cattle and diminishes meat quality.
Farm workers themselves face heat related mortality rates that are 20x higher than those working other occupations. Climate volatility threatens food security and the livelihoods of those who produce it.
4. Pilots and Airline Workers
Even 10,000 feet in the air, you can feel the heat. Rising global temperatures reduce air density, which can make it harder for planes to take off on short runways, particularly in high-altitude airports.
More frequent extreme storms create safety concerns for both passengers and crew causing flights to increasingly be canceled or rerouted. Now, about 30% of delays are due to the weather. Wildfire smoke also serves as its own hazard, which often blankets major cities.
Climate change is affecting the winds high up in the sky, which is causing more sudden and bumpy air during flights, – especially over regions like North Atlantic, North America, and East Asia. These bumps, called clear-air turbulence, (CAT) are invisible and pose significant risks to passenger safety and comfort. Scientists warn turbulence duration and intensity could double or triple due to this warming. In response, airlines are exploring technologies like on-board LIDAR to detect turbulence early and improve safety.
5. Healthcare Professionals
Doctors, nurses, and first responders are seeing firsthand how climate change is a public health crisis. Heat waves lead to spikes in emergency room visits for heat stroke, dehydration, and respiratory illnesses. Wildfire smoke exacerbates asthma and heart disease. Diseases like Lyme are spreading into new regions, requiring healthcare workers to prepare for illnesses that were once considered rare in their area.
The profession is adapting not just to treat climate related illnesses, but also to advocate for preventative public health policies.
A Changing World of Work
From the playing field to the farm, climate change is shaping careers in ways many never anticipated. Jobs once seen as stable are now in flux, and workers must adapt to survive in a warming world by learning and applying green skills to their careers. Supporting these existing professions as they navigate climate disruption is of the utmost importance.
The best way to help all of these professions and our own well being is to tackle climate change. The present Administration at the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is not making that easy! But you can make your voice heard by adding your name to our public comments urging the EPA not to revoke the Endangerment Finding, which gives the agency the authority to regulate pollution.
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