Heat burden grows in Bangladesh
Climate change is increasingly imposing a public-health and economic burden on Bangladesh, with the country recording 31 unusually hot days during June-August 2026, including 25 days that Climate Central says were added by human-caused climate change.
The prolonged heat threatens outdoor workers, productivity and livelihoods while increasing the risk of heat-related illness and pressure on health services.
According to a new Climate Central analysis, Bangladesh’s average temperature during the June-August period was 0.7°C above normal, while temperatures on 54 days were made at least twice as likely by human-caused climate change, based on the organisation’s Climate Shift Index (CSI).
The findings form part of a global assessment showing that climate change added 30 or more risky heat days for 1.5 billion people between June and August 2026. More than one-quarter of the world’s population experienced a strong climate-change influence on temperatures on any given day during the period.
Climate Central defines a risky heat day as one on which the temperature exceeds the local 90th percentile based on the 1991-2020 reference period. Such conditions are associated with increased heat-related health risks.
The impact varied significantly across Bangladesh. Rangpur recorded 50 risky heat days, the highest among the cities analysed, of which 38 were attributed to climate change. Gazipur experienced 33 risky heat days, including 26 attributed to climate change.
Comilla recorded 30 risky heat days, with 27 added by climate change, while Dhaka also experienced 30, including 26 attributed to climate change. Khulna recorded 19 risky heat days, 14 of which were attributed to climate change, while Chattogram recorded 16, including 11 added by climate change.
Rangpur also recorded the highest seasonal temperature anomaly among the cities, at 1.1°C, followed by Gazipur at 0.7°C, Comilla and Dhaka at 0.6°C, and Khulna and Chattogram at 0.4°C.
The economic implications are particularly significant for Bangladesh, where millions of people work outdoors in agriculture, construction, transport and other heat-exposed occupations.
Longer and more frequent periods of excessive heat can reduce workers’ ability to work safely and efficiently, while increasing the risks faced by businesses, households and health services.
The health burden is also becoming more visible among vulnerable groups.
Dr Rashedul Hasan Kanak, Associate Professor (Medicine) at Green Life Medical College & Hospital, said: “Mothers, children, and pregnant women face the highest health risks during intense heat.
Along with diarrhoea, typhoid, and jaundice, cases of heat exhaustion and heat stroke are also on the rise.”
Prolonged exposure to unusually high temperatures can increase the risk of heat-related illness, particularly among outdoor workers, children, older people, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions.
The combination of heat and humidity is especially hazardous because high humidity reduces the body’s ability to cool itself through sweating.
Climate Central says dangerous humid heat can compromise the body’s primary cooling mechanism and contribute to serious and potentially fatal heat-related illnesses.
The country’s experience reflects a broader regional trend. Asia had the world’s largest population exposed to at least 30 risky heat days added by climate change during June-August 2026. Across the continent, 2.8 billion people, or 58 per cent of Asia’s population, experienced at least 30 such days.
Globally, 1.5 billion people experienced 30 or more risky heat days added by climate change during the three-month period, while at least one-quarter of the world’s population experienced a strong climate-change influence on temperatures on any given day.
For Bangladesh, the findings point to the need to strengthen heat-health preparedness alongside longer-term climate adaptation. Measures could include stronger heat early-warning systems, heat action plans, climate-resilient health facilities, greater protection for outdoor workers and steps to keep schools and workplaces safe during periods of extreme heat.
Public awareness of heat-related illness also remains important, particularly as high temperatures combine with humidity to increase health risks.
At the same time, Climate Central’s analysis underscores the role of human-caused warming in intensifying heat exposure.
Climate Central Vice President for Science Kristina Dahl said the analysis shows a global pattern in which human-driven warming is pushing communities beyond safe physical limits, with the health and economic costs of fossil-fuel use increasingly being felt in real time.
The findings add to growing evidence that extreme heat is becoming an important public-health and economic challenge for Bangladesh, with the country’s 31 risky heat days, including 25 attributed to climate change, highlighting the scale of the emerging risk.
