Bangladesh loses 5pc of GDP to climate-linked heat losses
Lancet report warns rising temperatures and air pollution are driving economic losses and health risks, with dengue and heat stress surging nationwide
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Bangladesh’s twin fight against climate change and public-health decline is reaching a breaking point, with new research showing that rising temperatures and pollution are inflicting multibillion-dollar losses on the economy and worsening disease outbreaks.
The findings come from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change 2025, launched Thursday in Dhaka. The global assessment places Bangladesh among the world’s most climate-exposed nations, warning that without swift adaptation, heat stress, vector-borne infections, and air pollution will undercut decades of development progress.
According to the report, extreme heat alone drained $24 billion from Bangladesh’s economy last year — about five percent of its GDP — as outdoor workers struggled through nearly 29 heatwave days on average. Agricultural laborers absorbed almost two-thirds of the productivity loss, revealing how climate shocks are disproportionately hitting the rural poor.
At the national launch, organized by BRAC University’s Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research with government support, experts said the data exposes how climate pressures now cut across every sector.
Environmental economist Shouro Dasgupta of the London School of Economics said more than 50 global indicators show “climate change reversing human-development gains and widening inequality.”
Health specialists warned that warming of up to 3.7 °C this century could overwhelm hospitals already strained by heat-related illness and mosquito-borne diseases. Dengue transmission potential has risen 90 percent since the mid-20th century, reflecting how vector ecology is shifting with temperature and rainfall extremes.
Air quality compounds the crisis. Fine-particle pollution killed about 225,000 people in 2022 — up 38 percent from 2010 — with over 90,000 deaths linked to fossil-fuel combustion. Yet Bangladesh still spends $8.2 billion a year subsidizing those fuels while renewables provide less than one percent of its electricity.
Experts such as BRAC University’s emeritus professor Ainun Nishat said health must be integrated into adaptation planning, calling for investments in clean energy, resilient housing, and early-warning systems. Without them, he warned, “human suffering will rise faster than temperatures.”
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