Heat costs Bangladesh $17.5b in potential earnings

Bangladesh lost an estimated $17.5 billion in potential earnings in 2025 due to heat exposure, highlighting the growing economic cost of climate change as rising temperatures increasingly threaten public health, productivity and livelihoods, according to the 2026 Lancet Countdown Report on Health and Climate Change.

The country also lost an average of more than 26 billion potential labour hours annually between 2016 and 2025 because of heat exposure, 71% higher than the annual average in the 1990s, the report said.

The impact is particularly severe for vulnerable age groups. During 2021-25, infants experienced an average of 7.6 heatwave days annually, while people aged over 65 faced 7.2 days. These figures represent increases of 162% and 136%, respectively, compared with the 1986-2005 average.

The economic consequences of extreme heat are also reflected in the rising value of heat-related mortality. The average annual monetised value of heat-related deaths among people aged over 65 reached $3.8 billion during 2021-25, equivalent to around 216,000 average annual incomes. This was 495% higher than in 2000-04. 

The report warns that climate-related health risks are intensifying, with many impacts growing faster during 2016-25 than in the preceding decade.

Air pollution is another major threat to public health. Human-caused fine particulate matter in air pollution was responsible for an estimated 239,000 deaths in Bangladesh in 2023, with linked deaths linked increasing by 40% between 2016 and 2023.

Fossil fuels contributed to 37.5% of those deaths in 2023, according to the report. Household air pollution was separately associated with 77,500 deaths that year, down from 90,700 in 2016.

The monetised value of premature mortality from air pollution reached $77.6 billion, equivalent to 16.4% of Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP).

Despite the growing health burden, Bangladesh's energy system became 9.9% more carbon-intensive between 2016 and 2023. Net fossil fuel subsidies reached $5.3 billion in 2024, equivalent to 52.9% of the national health budget.

Md Ziaul Haque, additional director general of the Department of Environment, said the report provides important evidence of climate-related health risks, particularly for vulnerable communities.

He said Bangladesh must translate its commitments under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plan into action. 

The estimated 239,000 deaths from human-caused particulate air pollution highlight the urgent need to reduce pollution and fossil fuel use, Haque added.

Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Advanced Studies, said climate change and health were directly linked, with rising temperatures severely affecting working people and increasing health risks for mothers and children.

“Unfortunately, we have delayed taking appropriate action. Had we acted earlier, we could have better protected people from these impacts,” he said.

The report also highlights gaps in financing for climate-related health adaptation. Globally, 48 developing countries have identified health adaptation needs of at least $3.3 billion annually, but only $1.1 billion was committed in 2024.

Finance and human resources were identified as the leading barriers to implementing Health National Adaptation Plans.

Bangladesh has reported that its national meteorological and hydrological services provide climate information to the health sector to support preparedness and responses to climate-related risks.

Dr Ainun Nishat, Emeritus Professor at the Centre of Climate Change and Environmental Research at BRAC University, said climate adaptation efforts must reflect local realities, as many people have no choice but to work outdoors even during extreme heat.

He stressed the need to implement the Health National Adaptation Plan, particularly in areas such as food security, nutrition and vector-borne diseases.

Accurate, locally relevant data is also essential to understanding regional differences in temperature and climate-related health risks, Ainun said.

Tahrim Ariba Chaudhury, global climate and health lead at GSCC, said climate-related health costs, including out-of-pocket medical expenses, should be central to policy discussions at COP31.

She also emphasised the need to make renewable energy an attractive and profitable investment in Bangladesh to support a sustainable energy transition and protect public health.

The Bangladesh findings of the tenth annual Lancet Countdown report were presented at a national launch at BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka on Sunday. 

The event was organised by the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) of BRAC University, with technical support from the Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit of the Health Services Division.

The report calls for climate change to be recognised and addressed as a global health emergency, urging governments to put health at the centre of climate policies, including emission reduction targets and funding priorities.