Extreme heat is taking a significant toll on the incomes, health and livelihoods of Bangladesh’s informal workers, according to new study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), an independent research organisation and Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program, a community based migrant workers’ organisation in Bangladesh.
The study highlights how rising temperatures are reducing productivity, cutting wages and increasing health risks among workers who often have limited access to social protection.
The study selected Dhaka for its high exposure to extreme heat, large informal workforce and the presence of grassroots organisations and worker groups that could help researchers reach vulnerable workers.
Using the Comprehensive Climate Impact Quantification toolkit, the researchers interviewed 175 informal work households in Dhaka, including outdoor workers involved in construction and rickshaw pulling and indoor workers employed in garment manufacturing.
Informal workers account for 84.9 per cent of Bangladesh’s workforce, making heat exposure a major economic and social concern.
Heat is imposing measurable economic losses. Outdoor workers lose an average of 23.7 workdays each year due to heat, compared with 13.5 days among indoor workers. Illness was the largest contributor, accounting for 15.3 lost days among outdoor workers and 8.1 among indoor workers, followed by reduced productivity.
These losses translate into annual wage losses of $148.86 per outdoor worker and $89.10 per indoor worker. For low-income households, such losses can force families to borrow money, reduce food consumption and delayed healthcare.
Heat exposure is also creating serious health risks. Workers reported heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. According to the study, around one in three outdoor and one in seven indoor workers reach the threshold for heatstroke, which is a medical emergency. Repeated dehydration is a particular concern. The study found that 23.1 per cent of workers showed symptoms consistent with acute kidney injury, and around 6 per cent, or one in 17 workers, may eventually develop chronic kidney disease from repeated heat exposure.
The effects extend to mental health. Psychological stress reportedly doubled during the hot season, with workers experiencing low mood, anxiety, irritability, workplace mistakes and sleep difficulties.
The study found that heatwaves are deepening poverty. Heat is also widening the gap between household earnings and Dhaka’s living wage, estimated at about $2,997 annually. Outdoor-worker households earn an average of $1,756, while indoor-worker households earn $1,985. After heat-related wage losses, annual household income falls to $1,607 and $1,896, respectively.
The national economic costs are substantial. IIED estimates that extreme heat causes about $4.1 billion in wage losses across Bangladesh each year, equivalent to 0.91 per cent of GDP. Heat-related chronic kidney disease could add another $2.12 billion in losses.
The researchers recommend strengthening social protection through weather-triggered cash transfers delivered via bKash and Nagad and targeted through the National Identity system. Seasonal mobile health camps are also proposed because existing government health schemes do not currently reach urban informal workers.
The study calls for stronger workplace protections. Bangladesh’s labour laws currently lack a binding temperature threshold for safe work and do not recognise heatstroke or heat-related kidney disease as occupational illnesses eligible for compensation.
The study recommends an enforceable heat threshold, with mandatory drinking water, shade and rest breaks once it is crossed; recognition of heat-related illness as an occupational disease and protection for every worker exposed to hazardous heat, regardless of the size of the establishment.