DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Climate change is imposing a growing economic and public health burden on Bangladesh, with extreme heat causing an estimated $17.5 billion in lost potential earnings in 2025, while worsening heatwaves and air pollution threaten millions of vulnerable people, according to a new global study.
The 2026 Lancet Countdown Report on Health and Climate Change found that Bangladesh lost an average of more than 26 billion potential labor hours annually between 2016 and 2025 because of heat exposure, a 71% increase compared with the annual average recorded in the 1990s.
The findings were presented at a national launch in Dhaka on Sunday, organized by the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research at BRAC University, with technical support from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The report highlighted particularly severe consequences for infants and older adults, who face increasing exposure to dangerous temperatures.
Between 2021 and 2025, infants experienced an average of 7.6 heatwave days annually, while people aged 65 and older faced 7.2 days. These figures represent increases of 162% and 136%, respectively, compared with 1986–2005.
The estimated annual economic value of heat-related deaths among older adults reached $3.8 billion during 2021–2025, nearly six times the level recorded in 2000–2004.
Air pollution presents another major health emergency.
According to the report, human-caused fine particulate air pollution, known as PM2.5, contributed to an estimated 239,000 deaths in Bangladesh in 2023, a 40% increase from 2016.
Fossil fuel emissions accounted for 37.5% of these deaths, while household air pollution was separately associated with approximately 77,500 deaths.
The economic value assigned to premature deaths linked to air pollution reached $77.6 billion, equivalent to 16.4% of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.
Despite these mounting health risks, the country’s energy system became 9.9% more carbon-intensive between 2016 and 2023.
Bangladesh also provided $5.3 billion in net fossil fuel subsidies in 2024, an amount equivalent to nearly 53% of its national health budget.
Md Golam Rabbani, director of BRAC University’s climate research center, said Bangladesh had historically focused its climate discussions on cyclones, storm surges and saltwater intrusion, while paying insufficient attention to their health consequences.
He warned that rising temperatures were increasingly affecting farmers, outdoor laborers and urban communities, while dengue fever had become a recurring public health concern.
Environmental economist Shouro Dasgupta presented the report’s findings, highlighting the growing economic consequences of heat exposure.
Md Ziaul Haque, additional director general of Bangladesh’s Department of Environment, called for stronger implementation of national climate commitments, including measures to reduce air pollution and dependence on fossil fuels.
The report’s authors urged governments worldwide to recognize climate change as a global health emergency and prioritize public health in emissions reduction, climate financing and adaptation policies.
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