Heatwave cost Bangladesh $21b last year

Heat exposure had severe economic consequences for Bangladesh last year, leading to an estimated income loss of $21 billion due to reduced labour capacity, according to the latest Lancet Countdown report.
The previous year, the figure stood at $19 billion.
Agricultural workers were particularly affected, experiencing 63.5 percent of the potential hours lost and 54 percent of the associated income losses, said the 2024 report titled “Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Facing Record-breaking Threats from Delayed Action”.
The study released on Tuesday said nearly 26.5 billion potential labour hours were lost due to heat exposure in 2023.
Individuals faced moderate or higher heat stress risks for approximately 2,800 hours a year from 2014 to 2023, which is equivalent to one-third of the year during light outdoor activities, it added.
Exposure to high temperatures threatens people’s lives, health, and wellbeing, leading to death and heat-related disease, and increasing healthcare demand during heatwave episodes, the report said.
People above 65, socio economically deprived communities, very young children, pregnant women, and those with underlying health problems are particularly at risk to exposure to high temperatures, found the study.
From 2014 to 2023, infants and adults over 65, who mainly stay indoors during heatwaves, experienced 8.6 and 8.1 heatwave days per year on average.
“In 2023 alone, the same groups were exposed to record highs of 20.9 and 20 heatwave days per year,” the report said.
Besides the heatwave, continued use of fossil fuels and biomass lead to high levels of air pollution, which increases the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, and adverse pregnancy outcomes, it added.
Air pollution is believed to have caused more than 2.12 lakh deaths in Bangladesh in 2021, the report said, adding that around 40 percent of these deaths were caused by fossil fuel usage. The Lancet Countdown has calculated the monetised value of the premature deaths at $52.6 billion.
According to Lancet Countdown’s 2020 report, air pollution caused deaths of around 1 lakh people in the country.
The shift in temperature and precipitation associated with climate change is also causing many infectious diseases, including vector-borne, food-borne, and water-borne ones, the study found.
“Each year from 2019-2023, an average 82 percent of Bangladesh’s land area experienced at least one month of extreme drought,” it added.
Global findings from the 8th annual indicator report by a total of 122 researchers from UN agencies and academic institutions worldwide revealed the alarming new records in health risks associated with climate change. It emphasised the urgent need to redirect financial resources from fossil fuel investments towards health protection.
Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown, stressed the urgent need for action, stating that the ongoing expansion of the fossil fuel use exacerbates health impacts linked to climate change, threatening to undo the limited progress achieved thus far.
The report recommended a transformative approach to global financial systems that prioritises health and reallocates resources from a fossil fuel-dependent economy to a zero-emissions future. This transition will promote public health and wellbeing through cleaner air, better diets, and sustainable job opportunities.