For the international community, supporting South Asia’s efforts to build resilience is not only a humanitarian imperative but also a matter of global stability.
The Climate Impact Lab plans to update its projections as El Niño evolves, providing decision-makers with continually refined guidance. The message is clear: the Super El Niño of 2026–27 is both a humanitarian emergency and a warning.
Extreme heat has become a growing public emergency, depriving people of basic necessities and threatening their right to live in a healthy, safe, and dignified environment.
For many of Dhaka’s workers, avoiding the heat isn’t an option. Climate Rights International found that many workers were forced to continue their jobs in extreme conditions. Most workers interviewed had either fainted in the heat themselves or witnessed a colleague collapse on the job.
The UN appeal comes at a moment when humanitarian funding is already stretched by multiple crises. While CERF has provided rapid support, broader donor commitments remain insufficient relative to the scale of projected need.
South Asia’s lead crisis is not inevitable. Experience elsewhere demonstrates that decisive regulation, industrial formalisation and community-level interventions can sharply reduce exposure.
The UN appeal comes at a moment when humanitarian funding is already stretched by multiple crises. While CERF has provided rapid support, broader donor commitments remain insufficient relative to the scale of projected need.