Heat Stress Hurts Economy

Bangladesh is facing mounting economic and health risks from rising temperatures, driven by unplanned urbanization and pollution.

- Afroza Akther Pervin

A World Bank report estimates annual losses of Tk 2.1 trillion from lost productivity and illness, with 250 million workdays lost in 2024 alone. Dhaka’s temperature has risen sharply, worsened by vanishing wetlands and reckless development. Experts warn that weak governance and a lack of enforcement of environmental policies are deepening the crisis. They say solutions are within reach, but these require political will. Civil society and citizens must demand accountability, especially in the run-up to national elections.

The discussion that Dhaka is fast turning into a “heat chamber” is nothing new. But experts argue that this is not only due to global climate change—it is largely the result of unplanned urbanization. Urban planners and environmentalists have been warning about this for years, but their concerns have mostly gone unheeded.

A recent World Bank report has revealed even more alarming facts—enough to cause real concern. According to the report, Bangladesh suffers an annual financial loss of around Tk 2.1 trillion due to rising temperatures. Meanwhile, a scientific study on European countries recently reported that heat-related deaths there reached 16,500. The World Bank highlighted Bangladesh's financial losses caused by lost work hours and health problems, but it did not focus on heat-related deaths. To date, no central study in Bangladesh has examined this issue either.

The World Bank's analysis shows that since 1980, Bangladesh's maximum temperature has risen by 1.1°C, while the “felt heat” has increased by 4.5°C. In Dhaka, the rise is even greater—1.4°C, which is 65% higher than the national average. As a result, diseases such as diarrhea, chronic cough, respiratory problems, and extreme fatigue have increased. By heat impact, Bangladesh now ranks second in the world. In 2024 alone, around 250 million workdays were lost due to heat.