Climate-linked health risks cost $20.7b yearly: Report

Climate-sensitive health risks cost Bangladesh an estimated US$20.7 billion a year, equivalent to 4.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, according to a new study by the Knowledge Hub Institute (KHI).
The study found that Bangladesh lost 29.3 billion potential working hours to heat exposure in 2024, valued at $15.8 billion. Farmers and agricultural workers accounted for nearly two-thirds of those hours.
The report, titled “Multi-Dimensional Health Impacts of Climate Change in Bangladesh: Pathways, Costs and Policy Implications”, was released at BRAC Centre in Dhaka on Thursday. 
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Professor Dr MA Muhit attended as chief guest, while KHI President Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem presented the findings.
The estimate covers heat, vector-borne and waterborne diseases, disasters and selected health-related economic costs. The report calls it conservative, as it excludes air pollution and non-fatal illness. Between $1 billion and $3.3 billion a year can be linked specifically to observed warming.
Weather data from eight divisional headquarters showed that days with temperatures of at least 36°C roughly doubled between the 2000s and the 2020s.
“Bangladesh has developed several climate policies, but the health impacts of climate change remain inadequately addressed,” Dr Moazzem said. He called for sector-specific heat protection guidelines, district-level heat and health action plans and better use of health budgets. 
He also urged the government to prioritise financing for the Health National Adaptation Plan in national planning and at international climate negotiations, including COP31.
Modelled estimates cited in the report link high temperatures to about 16,000 deaths in 2023, including from cardiovascular, kidney and respiratory conditions.
The report says Bangladesh has no dedicated national heat-health action plan and no systematic reporting of heat-related illness and deaths.
The state minister said rising heat and humidity were becoming major public health concerns. 
He called for coordinated action by the health ministry, meteorological authorities and other agencies, and for more research and targeted measures to protect women, children and persons with disabilities.
The study found that a district 1°C warmer over the preceding four weeks recorded about 21% more dengue admissions two weeks later. About two-thirds of admissions since 2023 were outside Dhaka City, though 57%-64% of deaths occurred in capital hospitals, which receive severe referrals. 
Women admitted were 1.8 times as likely to die as men, and patients aged 61 and above 4.5 times as likely as children. Hospital treatment cost about $154 million in 2023, excluding outpatient care.
Disasters caused an average of about 416 deaths a year between 2019 and 2024, and floods and cyclones damaged 824 health facilities in 2024. 
The report also cites research linking saline drinking water in coastal areas to pregnancy-related hypertension and pre-eclampsia.
Modelled estimates associate particulate pollution with about 263,000 deaths in 2023, while a separate estimate links fossil-fuel pollution to 30,600 deaths in 2022. 
The report says this strengthens the case for renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean cooking, and notes that reliable electricity is essential for cooling, vaccine storage and treatment in health facilities.
Households paid about 79% of current health expenditure in 2023. The study found no clear evidence that real health spending rose after severe disaster years, and the Health Services Division spent only 24% of its climate-relevant allocation in 2024-25.
KHI recommends a national heat-health action plan before the 2027 hot season, linking Bangladesh Meteorological Department alerts to responses by hospitals and upazila health complexes. It also proposes workplace heat-protection guidelines covering rest breaks, water, shade and working hours, with initial action in 16 districts where health burdens and climate vulnerability are both high.
For dengue, it proposes weekly district risk bulletins combining temperature, humidity and admissions data, allowing preparation two to three weeks before cases rise. On financing, it recommends costing the Health National Adaptation Plan, introducing identifiable budget lines from the FY2027-28 process, and creating a contingency fund for heatwaves and outbreaks. It also calls for free dengue tests and inpatient care in public hospitals during declared outbreaks, quarterly publication of climate-related health spending, and a shared climate-health data system.