High temperatures put tea sector, workers at risk
Tea is one of the most valuable crops and export commodities of Bangladesh and plays an active role in the country’s economy as well as the livelihoods of many thousands. Bangladesh’s lush tea estates, predominantly in Sylhet and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, have enjoyed favorable climate for centuries. Increasing temperature and changing climatic patterns are now tainting this balances. Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall are disrupting tea cultivation patterns, threatening fundamental risks to production and people who earn a living from it just to survive.
During January and March 2025, Bangladesh saw a paltry 4 mm of precipitation in tea-gardening areas of Sylhet compared with 46 mm during the respective months in 2024, based on the Moulvibazar weather office. A prolonged heatwave that persisted from the close of Chaitra continued into April with temperatures ranging from 38–40 °C and parching land, killing saplings, stopping new buds, and impeding growth. Erratic monsoon rains also stretched the threat of production even further and pinned tea gardens down.
Temperature and uneven rain cause a serious disturbance in the physiology of tea bushes. Hot weather stresses the bushes, making leaves harder and slower in forming new buds. Uneven rain causes water stress, which slows the growth and lowers the yield of leaves. All these directly affect the final tea’s taste, flavour, and quality. Hence, harvest timing is uncertain and tends to retard the plucking season or shorten it. Tea gardens have reported generally lower and coarser leaves, reducing market value and overall production efficiency.
From January to March 2025, Bangladesh Tea Board statistics indicate production shortfalls just 93.0 million kg when the planned was 103 million kg in a year, 10 million kg short. The January production was especially poor, just 364,000 kg against the month’s average of about 850,000 kg. Consequently, expansion has now been halted, and production is decreased by almost 9 percent relative to the first few months of 2024. Already this fall, courtesy of heat stress and erratic rain, is burdening estate owners and laborers with monetary losses.
Low tea yields have direct consequences for the living of more than 1 lakh workers depending on the industry in Bangladesh. During low production, workers are given less plucking days, lower wages, and delayed remunerations. Casual workers are dismissed early or not called in the first place, aggravating their financial insecurity. Women, who constitute the bulk of the workforce, are disproportionately hit. Since no other income source is available, the family cannot pay for food, education, and healthcare thus making climate-related crop loss a human crisis as well.
Rising temperatures rapidly evaporate natural water sources in tea regions, making irrigation more difficult and costly. Streams and ponds previously supporting year-round farming are often dry during the most productive growing seasons. This water shortage slows the growth of leaves and overall health of the crop. At the same time, successive periods of dryness interrupted by heavy rainfall are causing soil erosion and loss of valuable nutrients. Consequently, the tea farms are besieged by decreasing soil fertility, which further diminishes productivity and plant resistance.
Tea garden laborers and small holders complain of increasing difficulties due to erratic weather. Most are anxious about reduced working days as plucking routines are upset by burning sun and delayed rains. Laborers point out that prolonged dry periods are dehydrating leaves and making them hardy to the extent that they are hard to pick, reducing quantity as well as quality. Farmers cite extra expenditure on irrigation and fertilizers, but lower incomes from reduced yields. These reports convey deep skepticism and growing concern with being in a position to keep earning a living despite worsening climate impacts.
In a bid to overcome climate difficulties, some tea garden owners and estate managers are embracing adaptive strategies. Some are growing shade trees to limit direct sunlight exposure of tea bushes and ensure conservation of soil water. Others are modifying plucking times to conform to new weather conditions and minimize sun exposure during the day. Some of the larger estates have even started investigating drought and heat-tolerant varieties of tea. Even with such efforts, however, most acknowledge that such measures have limited success without broader climate policy and resilience assistance.
Bangladesh government has devised programs to address climate issues in the tea sector. The Bangladesh Tea Association requests that the tea be pronounced as a 100% agro crop in order to get low-interest loans. 29 climate-resilience and sustainable development projects from the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund address problems of climate resilience and sustainable development. The Ministry of Environment demands science-based, coordinated intervention to protect at-risk sectors. Financial issues, mismanagement, and unscrupulous labor activities still dominate the industry. Experts recommend measures like tea garden mapping, compensatory wages, and better pricing to implement long-term sustainability over the adversities of climate.
Agri-scientists and environmental scientists confirm that elevated temperatures subject tea cultivation to immense stress by restricting habit of growth among plants and reducing yield quality. Heat stress has been known to induce accelerated senescence of the leaves and reduced biochemical quality, affecting flavor and export value. Economists alert that withstanding climatic uncertainty risks economic sustainability for the industry, lowering export earnings and workers’ income. Experts call for integrated climate adaptation measures such as enhanced crop varieties and agroecological methods to moderate these emerging agricultural and economic hazards.
Even the tea-producing nations like India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya are not immune to the wrath of the climate. Unseasonal rains and increasing heat in India’s Assam and Darjeeling have cut production and affected tea quality. Sri Lanka has experienced bad droughts, which have ruined its world-renowned Ceylon tea. In Kenya, the continent’s largest tea exporter, unpredictable weather and persistent dryness have led to falling output and rising prices. These effects worldwide again confirm that climate change is a not just a local problem but also a broad-scale problem for the tea industry.
To safeguard the tea industry, employing climate-resistant tea varieties and sophisticated irrigation systems is essential. Support policies of the government, in the shape of financial support and R&D investment, must be strengthened. Climate-smart agriculture training courses and early warning schemes must be launched to render farmers climate-resilient. Worker welfare schemes like proper wage payment and health support are equally important. Action against climate change is paramount to ensure both tea cultivation and the livelihoods of thousands of people directly or indirectly dependent on it.
MD. Noor Hamza Peash
LL.B. student, Department Of Law
World University of Bangladesh.