Temperature Stress is physiological stress experienced when a human is exposed to extremes of temperature that exceed their body's adaptational capacity in the short or the long term. Humans and workers (and human workers) work in, navigate through, and engage with exposures to heat and cold in the environment, from tool and process output, and from the body's own physiological effect. Temperature stress which is significant over a short term or sustained over a long term can cause unwellness, physical damage, and death.
The human body functions best within a specific range of temperature. When people are too warm or too cold, they can experience discomfort which can be easily mitigated by changing clothing, consuming hot or cold food, taking rest, or by using environmental controls like air conditioning or heating. Significant variances of temperature from a comfortable range require more adjustment, which many not be practical with conventional means. Protective clothing like heat-resistant flash suits or cool suits may be required if engineering controls are unable to mitigate temperature exposure or workers are unable to be isolated. Where personal protective equipment cannot mitigate significant variances of temperature from physical or physiologically tolerable ranges, work may need to be stopped. Examples of this include roofers working on hot days in direct sunlight, laundry workers in hot, humid, and contained environments, abattoir workers working in cold rooms, or in thermally intense environments.
Exposure to excessive heat imposes a progressive physiological burden on the human body, beginning with mild discomfort and escalating, if unmitigated, to irreversible harm. Early symptoms typically include sensations of warmth, flushing, thirst, and reduced concentration as the body attempts to regulate temperature through sweating and vasodilation. As heat exposure intensifies, these compensatory mechanisms become strained, leading to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and impaired cognitive and motor performance. Workers may experience heat rash, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion, characterised by dizziness, nausea, tachycardia, and reduced capacity for sustained work. If exposure continues beyond the body’s adaptive limits, heat stroke may occur, which can be a medical emergency defined by the failure of thermoregulatory systems, rapid elevation of core temperature, and neurological dysfunction. Without immediate intervention, heat stroke can result in multi‑organ failure, permanent disability, or death. These outcomes are not theoretical; they are well‑documented across industries where environmental, metabolic, and process‑generated heat converge to exceed human physiological tolerance.
Excessive cold similarly imposes a graded physiological stress that begins with discomfort and may culminate in severe injury or fatality. Initial exposure produces peripheral vasoconstriction, shivering, and reduced manual dexterity as the body attempts to conserve heat. These early signs, though often dismissed as minor inconveniences, can impair fine motor control, decision‑making, and reaction time, increasing the likelihood of secondary incidents such as slips, tool mishandling, or vehicle errors. Prolonged or intense cold exposure can lead to cold stress injuries including chilblains, immersion foot, and frostbite, where tissue freezing and microvascular damage compromise the integrity of skin, muscle, and bone. Systemic hypothermia represents the most severe consequence, occurring when core temperature drops below the threshold required for normal metabolic and neurological function. As hypothermia progresses, workers may experience confusion, slowed respiration, cardiac arrhythmias, and loss of consciousness. Without rapid warming and medical intervention, hypothermia can result in cardiac arrest and death. Cold‑related harm is therefore both a direct physiological hazard and an indirect contributor to broader safety risks.
Controls for excessive temperature variance must be grounded in the hierarchy of control and informed by an understanding of the environmental, metabolic, and organisational factors that influence thermal load. Engineering controls are the most effective means of mitigating temperature stress and may include mechanical ventilation, air conditioning, insulation of hot or cold surfaces, radiant heat shields, localised cooling or heating systems, and the redesign of plant or processes to reduce heat or cold generation at the source. Administrative controls complement these measures by structuring work in ways that minimise exposure, such as implementing work‑rest cycles, scheduling thermally intensive tasks during cooler periods of the day, rotating workers to limit cumulative dose, and providing acclimatisation programs for new or returning workers. Hydration protocols, thermal monitoring, and clear escalation pathways for reporting symptoms are essential components of administrative control. Personal protective equipment, while the least effective control, remains necessary where higher‑order controls cannot fully eliminate risk. This may include insulated or cooling garments, gloves, head protection, and footwear designed to reduce conductive and radiant heat or cold transfer. Effective management of temperature stress requires ongoing consultation with workers, continuous review of environmental conditions, and integration of thermal risk into broader safety management and emergency response systems.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.