Bangladesh is spiraling into a silent, scorching emergency, one that is claiming lives, crushing productivity, and costing the economy at least $1.7 billion.
As temperatures surge at an unprecedented rate, the nation is facing not just a climate crisis, but a full-blown public health and economic catastrophe.
According to a new report of the World Bank Group – “An Unsustainable Life The Impact of Heat on Health and the Economy of Bangladesh” released on Tuesday, rising heat is no longer a distant threat. It is here, it is lethal, and it is already taking a devastating toll on human lives and the national economy.
Temperatures soar, “feels-like” heat skyrockets
Between 1980 and 2023, Bangladesh’s maximum temperature climbed by 1.1°C alarming on its own. But the real danger lies in the “heat index,” or how hot it actually feels to the human body.
That figure surged by a staggering 4.5°C over the same period, more than four times the rise in actual air temperature.
The capital, Dhaka, is a ticking time bomb. Warming 1.4°C since 1980, faster than the national average, its heat index has spiked 65% higher than the rest of the country. Unplanned urban sprawl, vanishing green spaces, and explosive population growth have turned Dhaka into one of the world’s most dangerous urban heat islands.
Heat killing productivity and people
The human cost is mounting. A nationally representative survey of over 16,000 Bangladeshis in 2024 reveals chilling patterns:
Persistent coughs — a sign of respiratory stress — more than doubled in summer (6.0%) compared to winter (3.3%). On days above 30°C, risk jumps by 22.7%.
Heat exhaustion struck 2.6% of the population during summer — hitting hardest among working adults (36–65) and the elderly. On days over 35°C, risk soars 26.5%.
Diarrhoea cases nearly tripled in summer (4.4% vs. 1.8% in winter), with children under five and women bearing the brunt. Above 35°C, likelihood spikes by 47.7%.
Mental health is collapsing under the heat. Depression rose from 16.2% in winter to 20.0% in summer. Anxiety jumped from 8.3% to 10.0%. On scorching days over 35°C, depression risk climbs 23.8%, anxiety 37.1%.
Economic toll: $1.78 billion lost and climbing
The economic fallout is staggering. In 2024 alone, heat-induced illness and mental distress cost Bangladesh 25 million lost workdays. The financial damage? Between $1.33 billion and $1.78 billion or 0.3% to 0.4% of GDP.
And it’s only getting worse. When temperatures breach 37°C, productivity nosedives, a dire warning as heatwaves grow longer and more intense.
Projections are even more terrifying: by 2030, if global temperatures rise 3°C as feared, Bangladesh could lose 4.9% of its entire GDP to extreme heat, a blow that could reverse decades of development.
A nation on the frontlines but not without hope
Bangladesh ranks second globally in exposure to extreme heat. Yet, experts warn, the country’s health systems and economic safeguards are dangerously unprepared.
The report urgently calls for:
National heat emergency protocols — multisectoral, coordinated, immediate.
Health system overhaul — to treat, track, and triage heat-related illness.
Preventive tech-driven interventions — early warning systems, cooling centers, urban greening.
High-resolution climate data — to guide policy and save lives.
Global financing — because while Bangladesh emits less than 0.5% of global CO₂, it pays the highest price.
“Unsustainable life” a warning to the world
“This is not just about weather, it’s about survival,” said one of the report’s lead researchers. “When your workers collapse from heat, when your children get sick from contaminated water because of soaring temps, when depression spikes because people can’t sleep or work — that’s not resilience. That’s an unsustainable life.”
Bangladesh is a global hotspot but also a potential laboratory for solutions. With targeted action, international support, and political will, the country can still bend the curve.
But time is evaporating faster than the sweat on a Dhaka street vendor’s brow at noon.