Climate-driven heatwaves are set to slash working hours, erode incomes and drive up healthcare costs across Bangladesh, a new study warns.
Informal workers are likely to bear the brunt of the impact, it says.
In a report released on Sunday, German-based climate, environment, and development research institute Adelphi Global said Bangladesh’s informal sector workers are likely to suffer the greatest impact from worsening heatwaves.
It found that the country‘s extensive informal labour market, high medical expenses, and limited social protection are intensifying the economic impact of extreme heat.
Currently, the rate of lost working hours in these sectors is 6.28 percent, which could rise to 9.58 percent by 2030.
The study estimates that lost working hours across all sectors will increase from 4.24 percent to 4.84 percent, with informal workers facing the greatest hardship due to the absence of sick leave, health insurance, and income protection.
The report titled “Heat, Health, and the Increasing Costs of Living: A Call for Action” was according to a statement by the organisation
Citing the report, it said Bangladesh has been identified among the most vulnerable countries in terms of the economic impact of heatwaves.
The study, conducted in Bangladesh, Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria and South Africa, analysed how climate change-induced heatwaves simultaneously reduce people’s income and increase the cost of living.
The report says Bangladesh’s healthcare costs are increasingly falling on households, which paid 79.3 percent of total health spending in 2023 — one of the highest shares among the countries studied.
Private health expenditure per capita has surged more than 830 percent since 2000 and is likely to rise further as heat-related illnesses increase.
It also warns that most of the country will be at high to very high risk of heatwaves between 2020 and 2039, with temperatures above 30°C for as many as 239 days a year and productivity losses of up to 50 percent in some industries during heatwaves.
Adelphi Global notes that almost all women working in the agricultural sector in Bangladesh are informally employed, and the rates of which are also high in other heat-risk sectors, including construction.
As a result, if working hours are reduced due to illness, these workers’ income also decreases.
In 2024, the potential loss of income in Bangladesh due to reduced working hours and productivity due to extreme heatwaves was about $24 billion, equivalent to about 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The report also says increased electricity demand and frequent power outages during heatwaves further increase the heat risk in workplaces, factories, and residential areas.
In this situation, the climate organisation calls for an integrated consideration of climate adaptation, public health, and labour policy.
The report recommends strengthening public health systems to reduce reliance on private health spending, expanding social protection and labour rights for workers affected by heatwaves, including heat and health risks in national adaptation plans, and increasing climate finance for health and worker protection.
