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Climate change is imposing a severe economic burden on Bangladesh, pushing millions of households into financial hardship through a combination of rising temperatures and increased living costs. A new global report highlights that extreme heat is not only reducing workers' incomes but also driving up healthcare expenses across the country.

The report, "Heat, Health and the Increasing Costs of Living -- A Call for Action," identifies Bangladesh as highly vulnerable to the economic impacts of climate-driven extreme heat. Alongside India and Nigeria, Bangladesh faces significant risks due to widespread informal employment, escalating health costs, and limited social protection systems, leaving a large segment of the population exposed.

Workers in Bangladesh's agriculture and construction sectors are projected to face substantial losses. By 2030, they could lose the equivalent of 23.75 working days annually due to heat stress. These sectors already suffer from high productivity losses, which are expected to rise from 6.28 percent to 9.58 percent in agriculture and construction under a low-emissions scenario. Across all sectors, annual working-hour losses are predicted to increase from 4.24 percent to 4.84 percent.

These working-hour losses directly translate into reduced incomes, particularly for informal workers who lack paid leave, health insurance, or income protection. The report also underscores Bangladesh's heavy reliance on out-of-pocket healthcare spending, which constituted 79.3 percent of the country's total health expenditure in 2023. Annual per capita out-of-pocket medical spending has surged by over 830 percent since 2000.

Bangladesh is expected to remain one of the world's most heat-exposed nations. Projections indicate that most regions will experience high to very high humidity-based heat risk between 2020 and 2039, with 183 to 239 days annually exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. During extreme heatwaves, productivity losses in some sectors could reach as high as 50 percent. The dominance of informal employment in Bangladesh's labor market, with nearly all women in agriculture and a high proportion in construction working informally, amplifies these impacts.