TDS Desk:

Bangladesh suffered an estimated $24 billion in labour productivity losses last year due to extreme heat, according to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change 2025 report – one of the starkest warnings yet that the climate crisis has become both a public health and economic emergency for the country.

The study paints a sobering picture of how rising temperatures, toxic air, and surging vector-borne diseases are converging to threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Bangladeshis endured an average of 28.8 heatwave days in 2024 – of which 13.2 days would not have occurred without human-induced climate change.

The frequency and intensity of such heatwaves have soared since the 1990s, devastating out-door productivity and deepening poverty in vulnerable sectors.

The report estimates that 29 billion potential work hours were lost nationwide in 2024 be-cause of extreme heat – 92% higher than in the 1990s. The agricultural sector bore the heavi-est blow, accounting for 64% of all lost work hours.

The resulting $24 billion income loss, equivalent to 5% of Bangladesh’s GDP, underscores the far-reaching economic cost of global heating.

ALARMING RISE IN AIR POLLUTION AND DISEASE

The report attributes 225,000 deaths in 2022 to anthropogenic air pollution – a 38% rise since 2010. Of these, more than 90,000 deaths were linked to fossil fuel combustion, including 30,000 from coal, while household air pollution claimed 74 lives per 100,000 people, hitting women and rural households the hardest.

Despite the mounting toll, renewable energy contributed less than 1% of total electricity generation between 2016 and 2022, even as carbon emissions surged by 30%. In 2023 alone, Bangladesh spent $8.2 billion on fossil fuel subsidies, far exceeding investments in clean ener-gy or adaptation initiatives.

The Lancet Countdown also reported a 90% increase in dengue transmission potential since the 1950s, driven by warmer temperatures and erratic rainfall.

Urban centres such as Dhaka and Chattogram are now facing heightened risks of large-scale outbreaks due to favourable conditions for Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

EXPERTS URGE URGENT HEALTH-CENTRED CLIMATE RESPONSE

At the report’s launch at BRAC Centre in Dhaka – hosted by BRAC University’s Centre for Cli-mate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) – scientists and policymakers warned that the impacts of climate change are already reversing development gains.

“Extreme climate events are already happening in Bangladesh,” said Prof Ainun Nishat, emer-itus professor at BRAC University.

“While health is discussed in the National Adaptation Plan, it needs to be treated as a central pillar of our climate response. The human suffering behind these economic losses is immense.”

Dr Shouro Dasgupta, senior fellow at the London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute, added, “Heat exposure, air pollution, and vector-borne diseases are now among the most pressing health threats linked to climate change in Bangladesh.”

GOVT AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ACT

Mirza Shawkat Ali, director of the Department of Environment, said the government is step-ping up efforts to improve air quality, including declaring Savar a regulated air-quality zone and banning brick burning there.

He reaffirmed Bangladesh’s goal of achieving 25% renewable energy by 2035 and announced new partnerships to introduce electric cookstoves aimed at reducing indoor pollution.

Farzana Misha, associate professor at BRAC University’s James P Grant School of Public Health, stressed that “health must be recognised as a core pillar of adaptation” in upcoming COP30 negotiations.

Nayoka Martinez Bäckström, first secretary at the Embassy of Sweden, noted that “health is central to our climate work in Bangladesh. We are supporting localised solutions that reach iso-lated communities and strengthen national frameworks like the NAP and NDC.”

A GATHERING STORM

The 2025 Lancet Countdown warns that without decisive action, Bangladesh will face escalating crises – from heat-related illnesses and malnutrition to rising sea levels and infectious dis-ease outbreaks – that could erode decades of economic progress.

“Climate change is no longer a distant threat for Bangladesh,” the report concludes.

“It is a present and accelerating public health emergency demanding an urgent national and global response.”