Extreme Heat Puts South Asia Jobs, Growth at Risk: WB

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Extreme heat is already costing South Asia the equivalent of nearly 31 million full-time jobs each year and could reduce the region’s economy by almost 7 percent by 2050, according to a new World Bank report.

As South Asia prepares to add 280 million working-age people by 2050, rising temperatures are emerging as a major threat to employment, labour productivity and long-term economic growth.

The report, titled A Liveable Future: Protecting Jobs and Growth from Extreme Heat in South Asia’s Cities, projects that by 2070, around 520 million people across the region could experience at least one month of dangerously high heat each year—four times the current number, the World Bank said in a press release.

Extreme heat is already reducing labour productivity, disrupting businesses and threatening the competitiveness of South Asian cities. It is also placing growing pressure on health systems and critical infrastructure while disproportionately affecting low-income households, informal workers, women, older people and children.

"South Asia's cities are central to the region's future, but rising temperatures are putting jobs, livelihoods and economic growth at risk," said Johannes Zutt, World Bank Vice President for South Asia.

"Building heat-resilient cities is not only about protecting people from rising temperatures. It is about safeguarding jobs, boosting productivity, attracting investment and ensuring cities continue to drive economic growth."

The report examines extreme heat through the lens of employment, productivity and economic growth, assessing its impact on workers, businesses, infrastructure, public services and urban economies.

It argues that extreme heat should no longer be treated merely as a seasonal emergency. Instead, it should be integrated into urban planning, infrastructure investment, public policy and private-sector development as a core development priority.

The report recommends investing in heat-resilient infrastructure, strengthening Heat Action Plans, protecting vulnerable workers, expanding sustainable cooling, improving early warning systems and mobilising public and private investment to build more resilient cities.

The report was prepared with support from the Resilient Asia Program, funded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office through its Climate Action for a Resilient Asia programme.

The World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery and City Resilience Program also supported its preparation.

"Across South Asia, extreme heat is destroying livelihoods, affecting public health, depressing productivity and pushing the most vulnerable further into poverty," said John Warburton, Climate Resilience Lead for Asia Pacific at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

He described the situation as a development crisis requiring sustained action across sectors and said the UK government would continue working with the World Bank and other partners to strengthen knowledge, inform policies and mobilise investment for climate adaptation.

The World Bank said many of the solutions needed to address extreme heat already exist. Cities across South Asia are using Heat Action Plans, resilient infrastructure, urban greening, early warning systems and efficient cooling measures to save lives, protect workers and reduce economic losses.

However, scaling up these measures will require stronger institutions, better coordination and greater public and private investment.

As South Asia continues to urbanise, the report said government decisions made today will determine whether cities remain engines of employment, innovation and economic growth or become increasingly constrained by rising temperatures.

Investing in heat resilience, it added, will be essential to protect people, strengthen economies and secure the region’s long-term prosperity.