Dhaka, in particular, has warmed more rapidly than the national average. Over the past four decades, its maximum temperatures have increased by about 1.4°C, compared with 1.1°C nationally.

Bangladesh is facing escalating health, environmental, and economic challenges from rising temperatures – especially in its capital, Dhaka, which has become a textbook case of urban heat island (UHI) effects. Recent analysis by the World Bank and environmental health experts points to a dangerous trend: Dhaka is warming faster than the rest of the country, and the consequences for public health, productivity, and well-being are growing.

The World Bank’s new report, “An Unsustainable Life: The Impact of Heat on Health and the Economy of Bangladesh,” shows that since about 1980, Bangladesh’s maximum temperature has risen by 1.1°C, while the apparent or “feels like” temperature – factoring in humidity – has surged by 4.5°C. These increases are already translating into serious physical and mental health burdens.

Dhaka, in particular, has warmed more rapidly than the national average. Over the past four decades, its maximum temperatures have increased by about 1.4°C, compared with 1.1°C nationally. Between 2000 to 2019, the average maximum temperature in Dhaka increased from approximately 33.0°C to 34.6°C. The UHI effect in Dhaka means that people there are experiencing a “feels like” temperature significantly higher than surrounding rural areas.

Health Impacts: Physical, Mental, Vulnerable Populations

According to the World Bank, the rising heat in Bangladesh is fueling a broad spectrum of health issues. These include increases in diarrhea, persistent coughs, respiratory diseases, fatigue, and – during summer months – longer allergy seasons.

The mental health toll is also substantial. Elevated temperatures have been associated with surging rates of depression and anxiety – especially among older populations (those 50–65 years) and women, who experience both physical and psychological vulnerabilities. Pregnant women face heightened risk of heat-induced complications, while existing chronic conditions such as diabetes may be exacerbated by heat stress.

Economic Costs: Productivity, Losses, National Exposure

Heat doesn’t just sicken – it also stifles economic output. In 2024 alone, heat-related illnesses – both physical and mental – led to an estimated 250 million lost workdays, costing Bangladesh approximately US$1.78 billion, which is close to 0.4 per cent of national GDP.

Bangladesh is among the world’s most exposed countries to rising temperatures. Dhaka’s heat index increases are about 65 per cent higher than the national average, making its residents especially vulnerable.

Causes and the Urban Heat Island Effect

Experts say rapid urbanization, population growth, loss of vegetation and green space, and infrastructure dominated by asphalt and concrete are key drivers of Dhaka’s UHI problem. Dhaka’s built environment traps and retains heat, while fewer trees and parks reduce natural cooling.

On top of this, energy use in homes, traffic, industrial activity, and transportation all generate heat. Combined with high humidity – which reduces the body’s ability to cool itself through sweat – the “feels like” temperature becomes much more oppressive than the ambient air temperature alone.

What Must Be Done: Adaptation, Policy, Community Action

Both reports call for urgent, coordinated action, including:

• Multisectoral preparedness: Strengthening health systems to respond to heat-related illness, and building capacity for emergency response during heatwaves.
• Urban design interventions: Increasing tree cover, restoring green spaces and parks, using heat-reflective or cooler building materials, reducing asphalt surfaces, and promoting more energy‐efficient buildings.
• Data-driven health and weather surveillance: Collecting granular weather, humidity, and health data to identify vulnerable populations and anticipate heat-related disease outbreaks.
• Mitigation and financing: Mobilizing both public and private investment to support infrastructural changes, and leaning on international climate finance to fill gaps.

Jean Pesme, World Bank’s Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, emphasised that extreme heat is more than a seasonal nuisance: “Its impact is far reaching. As we see in Bangladesh that the rising temperature is affecting our health and productivity, and the country’s prosperity.”

Public health expert Sonia Angell from Johns Hopkins notes that while the urban heat island effect is a built phenomenon, “we can engineer it out” by reducing heat-generating materials, increasing tree cover, and improving energy efficiencies.

Outlook: Danger and Opportunity

If no action is taken, Bangladesh risks losing more workdays, seeing greater health care burdens, and slowing economic growth. Vulnerable populations – children, elderly, low-income urban residents – stand to suffer most. Yet the reports also stress that the tools to respond exist, and that with political will, planning, and international support, much of the damage can be avoided.

Dhaka, as the city that is warming faster than most of the country, will need to be at the forefront of adaptation efforts. Its urban planners, municipal authorities, health agencies, and communities must work together to design cooler, healthier, more resilient urban environments.

In the absence of a planned adaptation initiative, Bangladesh is now confronting a dual threat: ordinary weather turning dangerous through rising temperature trends, and urban heat amplifying those threats into public health crises and economic losses. Dhaka’s residents are now more aware than ever before that warming can be slowed, suffering reduced, and resilience built if action starts now.