Extreme heat is costing South Asia the equivalent of 31 million full‑time jobs every year and could shrink the region’s economy by nearly 7 per cent by 2050, according to a report of World Bank.
The report, A Liveable Future: Protecting Jobs and Growth from Extreme Heat in South Asia’s Cities, warns that by 2070, about 520 million people could face at least one month of dangerous heat annually, four times more than today.
South Asia is expected to add 280 million working‑age people by 2050, but rising temperatures pose one of the biggest threats to jobs, productivity, and long‑term growth.
Extreme heat is already reducing labor output, disrupting businesses, straining health systems, and hitting low‑income households, informal workers, women, the elderly, and children hardest.
“South Asia’s cities are central to the region’s future, but rising temperatures are putting jobs, livelihoods, and economic growth at risk,” said Johannes Zutt, World Bank Vice President for South Asia.
He stressed that building heat‑resilient cities is about protecting people, safeguarding jobs, attracting investment, and ensuring growth.
The report argues that heat should no longer be treated as a seasonal emergency but as a core development priority. It urges governments to integrate heat resilience into urban planning, infrastructure investment, public policy, and private sector development.
Recommendations include investing in resilient infrastructure, strengthening heat action plans, protecting vulnerable workers, expanding sustainable cooling, improving early warning systems and mobilising public and private investment.
The report was prepared with support from the Resilient Asia Program (RAP), funded by the UK Government’s Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) programme, along with the World Bank’s GFDRR and City Resilience Program.
John Warburton, climate resilience lead for Asia Pacific at the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, said extreme heat is destroying livelihoods, depressing productivity, and pushing vulnerable groups deeper into poverty.
He also called it a “development crisis” requiring sustained action across sectors.
The report cited that many solutions already exist. Cities in South Asia are showing how Heat Action Plans, urban greening, resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and efficient cooling can save lives and reduce economic losses.
Scaling these approaches will require stronger institutions, better coordination, and greater investment.
As South Asia continues to urbanize, the choices governments make today will determine whether cities remain engines of jobs and growth or become constrained by rising temperatures.
Investing in heat resilience is essential to protect people, strengthen economies, and secure long‑term prosperity.
