BD loses up to $1.8b to extreme heat: WB

Heat-induced productivity losses cost Bangladesh an estimated $1.3-1.8 billion in 2024, equivalent to 0.3-0.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a World Bank (WB) report.

The report, titled "A Livable Future: Protecting Jobs and Growth from Extreme Heat in South Asia's Cities", released on July 29, said the impact is most severe in Dhaka, where extreme heat makes around 3 per cent of annual working hours unworkable, effectively eliminating the equivalent of 465,000 full-time jobs each year.

The losses are projected to more than double by 2080, with Dhaka expected to lose 7.4 per cent of its productive working hours. Productivity declines sharply on days when temperatures exceed 37°C, the report said.

The World Bank warned that Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) sector faces a multi-billion-dollar threat from rising temperatures. Citing an analysis by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, it said the apparel industries of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Cambodia could lose up to $65.8 billion in export earnings by 2030 if heat stress remains unaddressed.

*    Dhaka loses 3pc of annual working hours
*    Productivity drops sharply when temperatures exceed 37°C
*    RMG sector faces a multi-billion-dollar threat from heat stress

The report highlighted Bangladesh's Green Transformation Fund, launched in 2016, as an example of how directed finance can help manufacturers invest in energy- and water-efficient equipment and improve workplace conditions. It said the initiative, supported by IFC's Partnership for Cleaner Textile and sustainability-linked lending, helped expand the adoption of sustainable practices, with Bangladesh having more than 270 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified apparel factories by the end of 2025.

The report also linked heat stress in Bangladesh's garment factories to a higher risk of violence and harassment against women workers who struggle to meet production targets under extreme temperatures.

Across South Asia, extreme heat is already costing the equivalent of 31 million full-time jobs annually and could reduce the region's economy by nearly 7 per cent by 2050, the report said. By 2070, around 520 million people in the region could experience at least one month of dangerous heat each year, four times the current number.

World Bank Vice President for South Asia Johannes Zutt said building heat-resilient cities was essential not only to protect people but also to safeguard jobs, boost productivity, attract investment and sustain long-term economic growth.