Workers in Queensland’s resource sector have issued a warning, as a spring heatwave rolls across the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology said an unseasonably warm spring had meant temperatures across most of Queensland had been 2-5 degrees hotter than usual – with some areas reaching almost 10 degrees above average.

The BOM said the above-average temperatures were likely to remain throughout December to February.

Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said weather systems on both land and sea would produce “really warm daytime temperatures, but really warm overnight temperatures as well”.

“Once we hit December and January, that’s when we start to see the more monsoon weather developing, which means more cloud,” she said.

“Which means the temperatures are generally a touch lower. So it’s through that spring period that we do tend to see the warmest weather, through spring in Queensland.”

Resources Safety and Health Queensland said the soaring temperatures brought an increased risk of heat stress for workers. It said resource workers – those in the mining, quarrying, petroleum, gas and explosives industries – were especially at risk.

“Symptoms can include a range of progressive conditions such as dehydration, fainting, heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke,” chief executive Rob Djukic said.

He said heat-reduction strategies and techniques were simple, but often overlooked.

“That includes modifying the environment to suit the work, modifying the work to suit the environment, or sometimes a combination of both,” Djukic said.

Djukic urged worksites to use heat-reduction measures to protect their workers from heat-related illnesses. These include rescheduling highly physical work activities to cooler times of the day and using of mechanical aids where possible to minimise physical exertion.

This article first appeared in InDaily Queensland. Read the original here