# Common Shade: the whole map as text > An interactive systems map of extreme heat in Asia: how heat ripples through 10 systems and 90 consequences, the 21 vicious cycles that make it worse, the 33 actions that could break them, and the 14 kinds of institution that hold those levers. Every claim links to its source. Common Shade is in beta, currently at beattheheat.asia. A group of organisations is helping shape it as a shared endeavour for protection from extreme heat. It is an independent, work-in-progress project, not an official publication of any one organisation. Listing an organisation does not imply its partnership, affiliation or endorsement. Every claim links to its source; where the evidence is still emerging, the map says so. Text, data, films and illustrations © Common Shade contributors, shared under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): you may copy, adapt and translate them, with credit and a link to beattheheat.asia. Code is under the MIT licence. Linked sources, quotations, and organisations’ names and logos remain their owners’ and are not covered. Interactive map: https://beattheheat.asia/ · Generated 2026-11-03 ## The web of extreme heat: every consequence, system by system How extreme heat ripples through 10 systems: 90 consequences and the links between them, each with its evidence. ### Extreme heat: where every cycle starts Extreme heat is where every cycle on this map starts, and it is no longer only weather. Climate change is already making Asia’s hottest days more frequent. Summer 2026, June to August: - 1.5 billion+ people worldwide had at least 30 days of risky heat added by climate change. - 117 million of them were in India, the most of any country, followed by China (94 million) and Indonesia (83 million). - 2.8 billion people in Asia, 58% of its population, lived through at least 30 days of risky heat. A risky heat day is hotter than 90% of the days recorded in that place from 1991 to 2020. Source: Climate Central, Risky heat added by climate change: June to August 2026, https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/risky-summer-heat ### Nature and ecosystems Heat dries land, burns forests, melts ice and warms the sea, wearing down the ecosystems that feed, water and shelter us. #### Droughts Higher temperatures speed up evaporation, so the same rain goes less far and dry spells turn into droughts. Leads to: Wildfires (Parched land and vegetation burn more easily.); Water shortages (Rivers, wells and reservoirs fall.); Failing harvests (Crops fail without water.); Livestock losses (Less water and fodder for animals.); Wildlife moves into farms and villages (Animals leave parched forests in search of water and food.); City trees and parks die (Trees with no water or root space die in long dry spells.) Source: IPCC, AR6 Working Group I, Summary for Policymakers, 2021 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf #### Wildfires Hot, dry vegetation ignites more easily and burns longer, sending smoke far beyond the fire itself. Leads to: Smoke, smog and ozone (Smoke travels hundreds of kilometres from the fire.); Glacier and snow melt (Soot settling on snow and ice darkens it, so it absorbs more sunlight and melts faster.); Extreme heat (Fires release carbon and strip away tree cover that shades and cools the land.) Source: UNEP and GRID-Arendal, 2022: Spreading like wildfire https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires #### Forest dieback Heat and drought stress trees until they stop growing, then die, turning forests from shade and carbon stores into fuel. Leads to: Wildfires (Stressed and dying trees become fuel.); Biodiversity loss (Habitats disappear with the trees.); Wildlife moves into farms and villages (Dying forests offer less food and shelter, pushing animals out.) Source: Hammond et al., Nature Communications, 2022: a hotter-drought fingerprint for tree die-off https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29289-2 #### Drying soils Heat pulls moisture from the ground when crops and plants need it most. Leads to: Failing harvests (Moisture vanishes just when crops need it most.); Extreme heat (Dry soil can’t cool itself by evaporation, so more of the sun’s energy becomes heat.) Source: Seneviratne et al., Earth-Science Reviews, 2010 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.004 #### Glacier and snow melt Mountain glaciers and snowpacks that feed rivers through the dry season are shrinking. Leads to: Water shortages (Rivers fed by snow and ice run lower in the dry season.); Hydropower falls (Less meltwater reaches the dams.); Extreme heat (Melting snow and ice expose darker ground and water, which absorb more sunlight.); Glacial lake outburst floods (Meltwater pools behind unstable moraines.) Source: ICIMOD, 2023: glacier loss in the Hindu Kush Himalaya https://lib.icimod.org/record/36322 #### Glacial lake outburst floods As glaciers retreat, meltwater pools behind loose rock and ice. When a bank gives way the lake can empty in hours. In October 2023 Sikkim’s South Lhonak lake burst after a frozen moraine collapsed into it; the flood breached the Teesta III dam, set off 45 landslides and cut the national highway. Climate change played a key role, and the lake can burst again. Leads to: Roads, rails and runways strained (A burst lake sweeps away bridges and highways.); Hydropower falls (Floods breach dams and wreck power stations downstream.); Heat deaths (Floodwater arrives with little warning.) Source: ICIMOD, 2025: climate change played key role in the 2023 Sikkim lake outburst https://www.icimod.org/press-release/new-scientific-study-confirms-climate-change-played-key-role-in-deadly-2023-lake-outburst-in-sikkim/ Source: Sattar et al., Science, 2025: the Sikkim flood of October 2023 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads2659 #### Marine heatwaves and coral bleaching Ocean heatwaves bleach coral and drive fish away from the waters people depend on. The 2023–2025 global bleaching event, the worst on record, reached 84% of the world’s reefs in 82 countries and territories. In Malaysia more than half of all corals bleached in 2024. Leads to: Fisheries decline (Fish move away from warming water, and dying reefs support fewer of them.) Source: NOAA and International Coral Reef Initiative, reported by Scientific American, 2025 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/worst-coral-mass-bleaching-on-record-caused-by-warming-oceans Source: Earth Observatory of Singapore: field data from Asia’s coral reefs https://earthobservatory.sg/news/blog/heat-stress-and-hope-how-field-data-from-asia-s-coral-reefs-can-help-us-improve-climate-resilience #### Biodiversity loss Species that can’t move or adapt fast enough decline, weakening pollination, soils and fisheries. Leads to: Failing harvests (Fewer pollinators and natural pest-eaters mean lower yields.) Source: IPCC, AR6 Working Group II fact sheet: biodiversity, 2022 https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FactSheet_Biodiversity.pdf #### Wildlife moves into farms and villages As water and forage dry up, animals leave forests for farms and villages. Crops are raided, people and animals are hurt, hunting for food rises, and closer contact raises the risk of diseases passing from animals to people. In Assam, villagers have grown paddy just for wild elephants, so the herds leave the main harvest alone. Leads to: Failing harvests (Elephants, wild boar and other animals raid crops.); Infectious diseases spread (Closer contact between people, livestock and wild animals raises the risk of diseases crossing over.); Injuries and accidents rise (Encounters injure and kill people and animals.) Source: Abrahms et al., Nature Climate Change, 2023: climate change amplifies human–wildlife conflict https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01608-5 Source: Mongabay India, 2023: Assam farmers grow paddy for wild elephants https://india.mongabay.com/2023/09/video-farmers-grow-paddy-for-wild-elephants-in-assam-to-reduce-conflicts/ Source: Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, Beating the Heat: Tamil Nadu Heat Mitigation Strategy, 2024 https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf ### Food and agriculture Crops, animals, fisheries and the people who work them all have heat limits. Cross them and food gets scarcer and dearer. #### Failing harvests Heat during flowering and grain-filling cuts yields of staple crops, even when there is enough rain. Smallholders farming on rain alone, with no irrigation or savings to fall back on, are hit first. Leads to: Food price spikes (Smaller harvests push up prices.); Farmers fall into debt (A failed season leaves farmers borrowing to eat and to replant.); Suicides rise (When heat ruins crops, farm incomes fall, and suicides rise in the growing season.) Source: Lobell, Sibley and Ortiz-Monasterio, Nature Climate Change, 2012 (wheat in India) https://fsi.stanford.edu/node/26622 Source: Peng et al., PNAS, 2004 (rice in the Philippines) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101 #### Livestock losses Heat-stressed animals eat less, produce less milk and eggs, fall ill and die. Leads to: Hunger and malnutrition (Less milk, eggs and meat for families who rely on them.) Source: Eco-Business: climate stress is trampling productivity in India’s livestock sector https://eco-business.com/news/climate-stress-is-trampling-productivity-in-indias-vulnerable-livestock-sector #### Farmwork hours lost Farm labourers work in the open sun. In the hottest hours, work becomes dangerous or impossible. Leads to: Failing harvests (Fields go untended in the hottest hours.); Lost work hours and wages (Farm labourers lose daily wages.) Source: International Labour Organization, 2019: agriculture bears 60% of working hours lost to heat https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/increase-heat-stress-predicted-bring-productivity-loss-equivalent-80 #### Pests and crop diseases spread Warmer conditions let many pests and plant diseases breed faster and spread to new areas. Leads to: Failing harvests (More pests and plant diseases mean more crops lost.) Source: Deutsch et al., Science, 2018, summarised by the University of Washington: crop losses to insect pests rise 10–25% per degree https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/08/30/climate-change-insects-crops/ #### Fisheries decline As waters warm and reefs die, fish move away or decline, and catches fall. Coastal and riverside families who live from fishing lose food and income together. Leads to: Hunger and malnutrition (Coastal families lose a vital source of protein and income.) Source: Free et al., Science, 2019: warming has already cut fisheries productivity, by 15–35% in five regions including East Asian seas https://www.climatechangepost.com/news/ocean-warming-already-decreased-global-marine-fisheries-production/ #### Food spoils faster Without cool storage, more of every harvest rots between field and plate. Leads to: Food price spikes (Losses after harvest push up prices.); Diarrhoea in young children (Food that spoils in the heat makes children ill.) Source: UNEP and FAO, 2022: Sustainable Food Cold Chains (526 million tonnes of food lost for lack of refrigeration) https://www.unep.org/resources/report/sustainable-food-cold-chains-opportunities-challenges-and-way-forward #### Food price spikes Smaller harvests and losses push up prices, felt hardest by families who spend most of their income on food. A study with the European Central Bank found that hot extremes keep food inflation higher for about a year afterwards, and a 2025 study traced 16 food price shocks since 2022 to extreme weather. Leads to: Hunger and malnutrition (The poorest spend most of their income on food.); Informal workers can’t stop work (Higher prices make it even harder to stop working.) Source: Carbon Brief, 2025: 16 times extreme weather drove higher food prices (on Kotz et al., Environmental Research Letters) https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-16-times-extreme-weather-drove-higher-food-prices-since-2022/ Source: Inside Climate News, 2025: weather extremes are driving up food prices https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21072025/weather-extremes-driving-up-food-prices/ #### Hunger and malnutrition When food costs more and incomes fall, families eat less and less well, and children suffer most. Leads to: Learning suffers in hot classrooms (Hungry children struggle to learn.); Babies and young children at risk (Underfed babies and children have less reserve to survive heat and illness.) Source: Lancet Countdown 2024, summarised by Wellcome: heatwaves and droughts linked to 151 million more people facing food insecurity https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/wellcome-responds-2024-report-lancet-countdown-health-and-climate-change #### Farmers fall into debt After a failed season, farmers borrow at high interest or sell livestock, land and seed to get by. Leads to: Failing harvests (Indebted farmers cut back on seed, water and fertiliser, so the next harvest fails more easily.); Forced migration (When debts can’t be repaid, families leave the land to look for work.); Loan repayments slip (Failed harvests leave farm loans unpaid.) Source: Carleton, PNAS, 2017 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5565417/ Source: King’s College London, 2023: microfinance and climate shocks in Cambodia https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/new-study-finds-that-microfinance-is-exacerbating-climate-precarity-and-harm-in-cambodia ### Water Heat raises the demand for water just as it shrinks the supply, and lowers its quality. #### Water shortages Taps run dry and wells fall just as people, crops and animals need more water to cope with the heat. Leads to: Longer trips to fetch water (Taps run dry, so someone has to fetch water.); Sanitation and hygiene fail (Without water, sanitation and hygiene fail.); Competition for water (Farms, cities and power plants compete for what is left.); Irrigation demand soars (Dry fields need more irrigation.); Power plants cut output (Power plants need cool water. When rivers run low or warm, they cut output.); City trees and parks die (When water runs short, watering trees and parks is cut first.); Buying water from tankers (When taps run dry, people buy water by the tanker.) Source: World Resources Institute: Day Zero lessons from Cape Town and Chennai https://www.wri.org/insights/responding-day-zero-equitably-water-crisis-lessons-cape-town-and-chennai #### Buying water from tankers When the taps run dry, households buy water from private tankers, and prices jump as wells fail. Those beyond the pipes, often the poorest, pay the most or go without. In one Bengaluru informal settlement a family earning about Rs 6,000 a month paid around Rs 1,300 for water. When Chennai’s reservoirs ran dry in 2019, tankers could not reach most of its slums. Leads to: Deepening inequality (The poorest pay the most for each litre, or go without.); Sanitation and hygiene fail (Costly water means less for washing and toilets.) Source: Citizen Matters: water access a daily struggle for Bengaluru’s slum dwellers https://citizenmatters.in/water-shortage-in-slums-low-income-households-80074 Source: World Resources Institute: responding to Day Zero equitably, Cape Town and Chennai https://www.wri.org/insights/responding-day-zero-equitably-water-crisis-lessons-cape-town-and-chennai #### Water quality falls Warm, low water breeds algae and bacteria and concentrates pollution. Leads to: Infectious diseases spread (Contaminated water spreads disease.); Diarrhoea in young children (Warm, low water lets bacteria multiply.) Source: Review in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022: cyanobacteria gain the advantage above 20 °C https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223187/ #### Irrigation demand soars Hot, dry fields need far more water to keep crops alive. Leads to: Groundwater over-pumped (Farmers pump harder and deeper to keep crops alive.) Source: Rodell, Velicogna and Famiglietti, Nature, 2009 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08238 #### Groundwater over-pumped Farmers and cities pump deeper and harder, draining aquifers faster than rain can refill them. Leads to: Water shortages (Aquifers fall and wells run dry.) Source: Rodell, Velicogna and Famiglietti, Nature, 2009 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08238 #### Competition for water Farms, cities, industry and power plants all compete for a shrinking supply. Leads to: Conflict over water and land (Scarce water becomes a source of conflict.) Source: World Resources Institute, 2018: 40% of India’s thermal power plants are in water-scarce areas https://www.wri.org/insights/40-indias-thermal-power-plants-are-water-scarce-areas-threatening-shutdowns #### Longer trips to fetch water Where taps fail, someone has to walk further, for longer, in the heat, to bring water home. Leads to: Care burden falls on women and girls (Fetching water falls mostly on women and girls.); Children pulled out of school (Girls miss school to fetch water.); Violence against women rises (Longer trips for water, often alone, expose women and girls to harassment and assault.); Risks in pregnancy (Carrying water far in the heat adds strain to a pregnancy.) Source: UNICEF, 2016: women and girls spend 200 million hours a day collecting water https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-collecting-water-often-colossal-waste-time-women-and-girls #### Sanitation and hygiene fail Without enough water, toilets, handwashing and cleaning suffer. Leads to: Infectious diseases spread (Poor hygiene spreads diarrhoea and other infections.); Babies and young children at risk (Diarrhoea from unsafe water is most dangerous for the youngest children.); Diarrhoea in young children (Without clean water and handwashing, children catch diarrhoea more easily.) Source: ACAPS, 2017: Sindh heatwave briefing (more use of unprotected water sources) https://www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/products/files/170424_acaps_start_anticipatory_briefing_note_pakistan_heatwave.pdf ### Energy Heat drives up demand for cooling while cutting the ability of power plants and grids to supply it. #### Cooling demand peaks As temperatures climb, so does the demand for fans and air conditioning, pushing electricity use to new peaks. Leads to: Power cuts and grid stress (Peak demand pushes grids to the limit.); Emissions from cooling rise (Most cooling still runs on fossil-fuelled power.); Urban heat islands (Air conditioners pump heat outdoors, warming the streets around them.); Can’t afford to keep cool (Higher bills push poor households into energy poverty.) Source: International Energy Agency, 2018: The Future of Cooling https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling Source: International Energy Agency: The Future of Cooling in Southeast Asia https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling-in-southeast-asia #### Power cuts and grid stress Peak demand and heat-stressed lines and transformers push grids to the edge. Outages switch off cooling when it matters most. Leads to: Diesel generators run longer (Outages drive those who can afford it to diesel.); Cold chains break (Without power, fridges for food and vaccines fail.); Health systems overwhelmed (Hospitals and clinics lose cooling and equipment when the power fails.); Water shortages (Without power, pumps and treatment plants stop.); Phone and data networks fail (Phone masts and networks fail when the power does.); Small businesses close (Shops and workshops lose power and stock.) Source: World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023: Vietnam’s heat-driven power crisis https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp #### Power plants cut output Coal, gas and nuclear plants need cool water. When rivers run low or warm, they have to produce less. Leads to: Power cuts and grid stress (Plants cut output just when demand peaks.) Source: World Resources Institute, 2018 https://www.wri.org/insights/40-indias-thermal-power-plants-are-water-scarce-areas-threatening-shutdowns #### Hydropower falls Low rivers and reservoirs mean less electricity from dams. Leads to: Power cuts and grid stress (Low reservoirs mean less electricity.) Source: World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023: Vietnam’s reservoirs ran low https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp #### Diesel generators run longer When the grid fails, homes, shops and hospitals that can afford it switch to diesel. Leads to: Emissions from cooling rise (Diesel adds still more emissions.); Smoke, smog and ozone (Generators fill streets with fumes.) Source: IFC, 2019: The Dirty Footprint of the Broken Grid (20–30 million back-up generator sites) https://www.ifc.org/en/pressroom/2019/new-ifc-study-details-environmental-economic-health-costs-of-fossil-fuel-generators #### Emissions from cooling rise Most cooling still runs on fossil-fuelled power and refrigerants that warm the planet. Leads to: Extreme heat (Emissions add to the warming that drives demand for cooling.) Source: International Energy Agency, 2018: The Future of Cooling https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling #### Can’t afford to keep cool For the poorest households, fans, cooling and electricity bills are out of reach. Leads to: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion (With no way to cool down at home, heat builds up in the body.) Source: Sustainable Energy for All, 2023: Chilling Prospects https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023 #### Cold chains break Without reliable power, fridges for food, medicines and vaccines fail. Leads to: Food spoils faster (Food rots without refrigeration.); Infectious diseases spread (Spoiled vaccines leave people unprotected.) Source: UNEP and FAO, 2022: Sustainable Food Cold Chains https://www.unep.org/resources/report/sustainable-food-cold-chains-opportunities-challenges-and-way-forward ### Cities and infrastructure Concrete, crowding and ageing infrastructure turn cities into amplifiers of heat. #### Urban heat islands Dense surfaces, little shade and waste heat keep city cores several degrees hotter than their surroundings, especially at night. This is the urban heat island effect. Leads to: Cooling demand peaks (A hotter city needs even more cooling.); Sleepless hot nights (Cities hold their heat overnight.); City trees and parks die (Hotter streets stress trees further; many city species are already past their heat limits.) Source: Cooling Singapore, citing Chow and Roth, 2006 https://www.thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf Source: Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 2024 https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf #### Homes that trap heat Tin roofs, poor ventilation and crowded rooms can make homes hotter inside than out, leaving nowhere safe to rest. Thin roofs cool slowly, so the worst comes at night: in low-income homes measured across South Asia, tin-roofed houses stayed warmer indoors than the outdoor air. Leads to: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion (With no cool place to recover, heat builds up day after day.); Deepening inequality (Hot homes cost sleep, health and earnings, so the gap widens.); Sleepless hot nights (Rooms stay hot all night.); Violence against women rises (Crowded, hot homes may raise tension inside them.) Source: Frontiers in Built Environment, 2022: Ahmedabad informal settlements up to 7.6 °C hotter https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2022.874751/full Source: Tasgaonkar et al., Scientific Data, 2022: indoor heat in low-income homes in South Asia https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01314-5 #### Roads, rails and runways strained Rails buckle, roads soften and hot, thin air means planes need longer runways or must carry less. Leads to: Transport disrupted (Buckled rails and softened roads slow everything down.); Public budgets strained (Repairs drain public budgets.) Source: Coffel, Thompson and Horton, Climatic Change, 2017, via NASA: rising temperatures and aircraft take-off https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170007349 Source: Network Rail: buckled rails in summer heat https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/buckled-rail-and-summer-heat #### Transport disrupted Speed limits, cancellations and breakdowns slow the movement of people and goods. Leads to: Supply chains disrupted (Goods stop moving.) Source: Network Rail: heat speed restrictions https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/looking-after-the-railway/delays-explained/buckled-rail-and-summer-heat Source: World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023 https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp #### Smoke, smog and ozone Heat speeds up the chemistry that forms ground-level ozone, and still, hot air traps pollution and smoke. Leads to: Breathing problems worsen (Ozone and smoke inflame the lungs.) Source: Air Quality News, 2026: heatwaves drive dangerous ozone pollution across India (npj Clean Air study) https://airqualitynews.com/news/health-news/heatwaves-drive-dangerous-ozone-pollution-across-india/ #### Streets and parks unusable Markets, streets and parks become too hot to use in the middle of the day. Leads to: Small businesses close (Street trade and markets empty out.); Older people isolated at home (People stay indoors and alone.); Customers stay home (When streets are too hot to walk, shoppers stay away.) Source: Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024 https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/ Source: WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025 https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf #### City trees and parks die Heat, drought and missing upkeep kill street trees and parks just when their shade is needed. Across 164 cities, 56% of urban tree and shrub species already face temperatures beyond those in their natural range, and in hot cities such as New Delhi and Singapore every species studied is at risk. Leads to: Urban heat islands (Fewer trees means less shade and less evaporative cooling, so streets heat up.) Source: Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022: climate change increases global risk to urban forests https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf Source: Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023: more than 500 of 870 new trees died in a Berlin park https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762 #### Green space follows wealth Trees and parks cluster in better-off neighbourhoods, which can pay for them and for the upkeep that keeps them alive, so poorer districts stay hotter. Leads to: Urban heat islands (Neighbourhoods with little green run hotter.); Greening pushes people out (When greening finally reaches the least green, cheapest districts as a property upgrade, without protection for tenants, rents rise.) Source: Wolch, Byrne and Newell, Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014: making cities “just green enough” https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017 Source: Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023: tree survival tracks municipal budgets in Santiago https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762 #### Phone and data networks fail Overheating equipment and power cuts take down phone masts, networks and data centres. Leads to: Emergency services stretched (Warnings and calls for help don’t get through.); Help can’t reach remote places (Without a phone signal, heat warnings may not reach the last village.) Source: Asia News Network, 2026: Bangladesh’s mobile signals weaken as blackouts spread https://asianews.network/?p=269961 ### Health The human body has limits. Heat strains the heart, kidneys, lungs and mind, and the services built to care for them. #### Heat deaths Extreme heat kills, often quietly, through failing hearts, kidneys and lungs. Europe’s 2003 heatwave alone is estimated to have caused more than 70,000 deaths. Leads to: Heat deaths under-recorded (Most heat deaths are recorded as heart, kidney or lung failure.); Deepening inequality (Families lose breadwinners and carers.) Source: Robine et al., Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2008: death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe in summer 2003 https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/en/10.1016/j.crvi.2007.12.001/ #### Heatstroke and heat exhaustion When the body can no longer cool itself, heat exhaustion can tip into heatstroke: a medical emergency that can kill. India’s suspected heatstroke cases rose more than tenfold in two summers, from 4,481 in 2022 to over 48,000 in 2024. Humid heat is the most dangerous: when the wet-bulb temperature is high, sweat stops cooling the body. Leads to: Heat deaths (Heatstroke kills if it is not treated quickly.); Health systems overwhelmed (Heat illness brings sudden surges of patients.); Lost work hours and wages (Illness means days off work, and for daily earners no work means no pay.); Medical costs and debt (Treatment and lost days are paid for out of pocket.) Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 6 August 2024 https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf #### Kidney and heart strain Sweating and dehydration make the heart work harder and can damage the kidneys, especially with repeated exposure. Leads to: Heat deaths (Many heat deaths are heart and kidney failures.) Source: Kidney International Reports, 2023: heat stress and kidney health in Tamil Nadu salt-pan workers https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ekir.2023.04.011 #### Breathing problems worsen Ozone, smoke and hot air inflame airways and worsen asthma and lung disease. Leads to: Heat deaths (Breathing problems turn fatal in the heat.) Source: Air Quality News, 2026: heat-driven ozone and health in India https://airqualitynews.com/news/health-news/heatwaves-drive-dangerous-ozone-pollution-across-india/ #### Risks in pregnancy Each 1 °C rise in temperature raises the odds of preterm birth by about 5%, and a heatwave by about 16%; stillbirths rise by about 5% for each 1 °C, and the risks are largest for poorer women and at the youngest and oldest ages. Women who keep working outdoors or fetching water while pregnant carry the most risk: in a Tamil Nadu study of 800 pregnant women doing physical work, those with high workplace heat had about twice the risk of miscarriage. In Bangladesh, the extreme-heat days a pregnancy passes through rose from about 4 for births in 2018 to about 30 for births in 2024. Leads to: Health systems overwhelmed (Complications add to the load on maternity care.); Babies and young children at risk (Babies born early or small are more fragile in the heat.); Mental health suffers (Heat in pregnancy adds stress and anxiety, known risks for the birth.) Source: Chersich et al., BMJ, 2020: systematic review and meta-analysis of 70 studies in 27 countries https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33148618/ Source: Rekha et al., BJOG, 2023: occupational heat and pregnancy outcomes in 800 women workers, Tamil Nadu https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37814395/ Source: Preprint, not yet peer reviewed: prenatal extreme heat and newborn deaths in Bangladesh, 2015–2025 (medRxiv, 2026) https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.23.26366352 Source: WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA, 2023: Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240085350 #### Babies and young children at risk Babies and small children overheat and dehydrate faster than adults, and can’t say when they are struggling. Heat brings more diarrhoea, malnutrition and hospital visits for the youngest. Leads to: Care burden falls on women and girls (Sick babies and children need someone at home to look after them, usually their mother.) Source: Lancet Countdown 2024, India data sheet: infants faced 7.7 heatwave days a year https://lancetcountdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lancet-Countdown-2024_INDIA.pdf Source: WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA, 2023: Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240085350 #### Diarrhoea in young children Warmth lets bacteria multiply in water and food. Across 26 studies, each 1 °C rise in temperature was linked to about 7% more diarrhoea, a leading cause of death in young children. Repeated bouts leave children undernourished. Leads to: Babies and young children at risk (Repeated diarrhoea leaves young children undernourished and weak.); Health systems overwhelmed (Sick children fill clinics in the hot months.) Source: Carlton et al., International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016: temperature and diarrhoeal disease, 26 studies https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26567313/ #### Mental health suffers Heat is linked to more anxiety, distress and suicide, and to worse outcomes for people living with mental illness. Heat in pregnancy adds stress and anxiety, known risks for the birth. In many countries, mental health services are far from meeting the need. Leads to: Sleepless hot nights (Stress and anxiety make sleep even harder.); Violence and crime rise (Frayed tempers spill over into violence.); Suicides rise (Distress that goes without support can end in self-harm.) Source: Thompson et al., The Lancet Planetary Health, 2023, summarised by Imperial College London https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/246058/rising-temperatures-associated-with-poorer-mental/ Source: WHO, 2022: Mental health and climate change, policy brief https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240045125 Source: WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA, 2023: Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240085350 #### Suicides rise In India, where one fifth of the world’s suicides occur, a 1 °C rise in a day’s temperature above 20 °C in the growing season was linked to about 70 more suicides, as the same heat cut crop yields. Warming over 30 years is estimated to account for 59,300 suicides. The findings have been debated. Source: Carleton, PNAS, 2017: crop-damaging temperatures increase suicide rates in India https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28760983/ #### Sleepless hot nights When nights stay hot, the body has less chance to recover from the day, so the next day can start already depleted. Leads to: Mental health suffers (Poor sleep wears down mood and the ability to cope.); Heatstroke and heat exhaustion (Without cool nights, the body starts each day already overheated.) Source: Minor et al., One Earth, 2022: rising temperatures erode human sleep https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/rising-temperatures-erode-human-sleep-globally/ #### Infectious diseases spread Warmth helps the mosquitoes that carry dengue breed and bite, and dirty water and spoiled food spread illness. Bangladesh had its worst dengue year on record in 2023: by 30 October, WHO counted 267,680 cases and 1,333 deaths, with the surge starting unusually early. Leads to: Health systems overwhelmed (Outbreaks add to the caseload.) Source: WHO Bangladesh, Dengue Situation Report 10, 30 October 2023 https://www.who.int/bangladesh/about-us/publications/m/item/dengue-situation-report-10-30-october-2023 Source: WHO Disease Outbreak News: dengue in Bangladesh, August 2023 https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON481 #### Injuries and accidents rise Heat strain can unsteady balance and slow reactions, especially in heavy work in humid heat, so the risk of accidents at work, on the road and at home rises. How much depends on how hot the body gets, the task and the person: at milder strain, some studies find no loss in thinking at all. Leads to: Health systems overwhelmed (More casualties to treat.); Lost work hours and wages (Injured workers lose income.) Source: APN: high temperatures and work-related injuries in Guangzhou, China https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/does-hot-weather-affect-work-related-injury-a-case-crossover-study-in-guangzhou-china/ Source: Tan et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2025: humid heat and balance in simulated construction work at height https://ghhin.org/wp-content/uploads/msse-57-1579-1.pdf Source: Tan et al., Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024: severe heat, brain temperature and executive function https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.09.001 Source: A counterpoint: no loss of executive function or risk-taking at modest heat strain (≤38.5 °C), 28 adults, PubMed Central https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12804366/ #### Health systems overwhelmed Heatwaves bring surges of patients just as staff, power and supplies are under strain. Leads to: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion (Overstretched services treat people later, and heat illness turns severe fast.) Source: Context, 2024: India’s hospitals adapt to killer heat https://www.context.news/climate-risks/ice-baths-and-ventilators-indias-hospitals-adapt-to-killer-heat ### Work and economy Heat slows hands, closes businesses and squeezes the incomes of those with the least margin. #### Lost work hours and wages The International Labour Organization projects that heat stress could cut 2.2% of all working hours worldwide by 2030, the equivalent of 80 million full-time jobs. Leads to: Informal workers can’t stop work (Lost income leaves even less margin, so the next heatwave has to be worked through too.); Deepening inequality (Lost earnings hurt most where there are no savings to fall back on.); Hunger and malnutrition (Less income means less food.); Violence against women rises (Lost income and stress at home raise the risk of violence against women.); Loan repayments slip (Lost wages make household and microfinance repayments harder.) Source: International Labour Organization, 2019: heat stress predicted to cost the equivalent of 80 million jobs https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/increase-heat-stress-predicted-bring-productivity-loss-equivalent-80 #### Informal workers can’t stop work Without paid leave, contracts or savings, stopping work means losing the day’s income. So people keep working through dangerous heat. About three in four Indian workers, some 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed work. Around 90% of India's workers, and 80% in urban Delhi, work informally. Leads to: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion (Working through the hottest hours without shade, water or rest raises the risk of heat illness.); Injuries and accidents rise (Fatigue and heat cause accidents.); Care burden falls on women and girls (When workers fall ill, someone has to care for them, usually women.); Risks in pregnancy (Pregnant women who keep doing heavy work in the heat face more miscarriage and early birth.); Hot workplaces without toilets (Many women’s workplaces have no safe toilets.) Source: World Bank, 2022, reported by Down To Earth https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/heatwaves-in-india-could-soon-break-human-survivability-limit-says-world-bank-analysis-86431 Source: NIUA Climate Centre for Cities, 2026: Heat Resilient Cities Framework, p. 8, citing WIEGO's statistical profile of informal workers in India https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework #### Hot workplaces without toilets Heat at work carries a hidden cost for women where there are no safe toilets. In a study of 312 women workers in India, heat exceeded safe limits for 71%; of those with poor or no toilets, 87% reported genitourinary problems, and about 1 in 10 showed heat strain and moderate dehydration. Leads to: Kidney and heart strain (Dehydration at work strains the kidneys.) Source: Venugopal et al., Global Health Action, 2016: heat and inadequate sanitation for 312 women workers in India https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27633034/ #### Migrant workers abroad Millions from Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines build and serve in some of the world’s hottest places, and the money they send home holds families and economies together: about a quarter of Nepal’s GDP. Among Nepali workers in Qatar, cardiovascular deaths rose with the summer heat, and as many as 200 of 571 such deaths in 2009–2017 could have been prevented with heat protection. Leads to: Heat deaths (Heat strain kills workers far from home.); Lost work hours and wages (When a worker falls ill or dies, the money home stops.) Source: Pradhan et al., Cardiology, 2019, summarised by ClimateCHIP: heat stress and cardiac deaths of Nepali workers in Qatar https://www.climatechip.org/node/192 Source: World Bank: personal remittances received, % of GDP (Nepal) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS?locations=NP #### Productivity falls Above a certain temperature, people work more slowly and make more mistakes, indoors and out. Across 2.7 million firms in 23 advanced economies, ten extra days above 35 °C cut a year’s labour productivity by 0.3%, and days above 40 °C did five times the damage. In humid, still air the loss roughly doubles. Leads to: Lost work hours and wages (Slower work means lower output and pay.); Public budgets strained (Lower output means lower tax revenue.) Source: OECD Economics Department, Working Paper No. 1828, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en #### Medical costs and debt Treatment, medicines and lost days are often paid for out of pocket, pushing households into debt. Leads to: Informal workers can’t stop work (Debt repayments remove any option to stop work in the heat.); Can’t afford to keep cool (Debt leaves nothing for electricity or cooling.) Source: Selvaraj, Farooqui and Karan, BMJ Open, 2018 https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e018020 #### Small businesses close Street vendors, workshops and shops lose customers, stock and power, and many shut for good. Leads to: Lost work hours and wages (Closed businesses mean lost jobs.); Deepening inequality (Small firms lose the most in hot years while the largest firms gain, so heat widens the gap between them.); Loan repayments slip (Lost sales leave small firms short of cash to repay their loans.) Source: OECD Economics Department, Working Paper No. 1828, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en Source: Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024 https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/ #### Supply chains disrupted Heat slows factories, ports, roads and warehouses. The delays ripple through prices and jobs far away. Leads to: Food price spikes (Delays and losses push up prices.) Source: World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023: factories hit by Vietnam’s power cuts https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp #### Customers stay home Heat empties markets and high streets in the hottest hours. Spending shifts to cooled malls and cooling products, while street vendors, small shops, restaurants and hotels lose sales. Leads to: Small businesses close (Fewer customers mean lost sales and spoiled stock.) Source: Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024 https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/ Source: Orissa Post, 2024: heat cut showroom footfall https://www.orissapost.com/passenger-vehicle-retail-sales-dip-7-in-june-as-heatwave-curtails-showroom-visits/amp/ #### Tourism shifts away Visitors avoid places and seasons that become too hot, taking jobs and income with them. Leads to: Lost work hours and wages (Fewer visitors, fewer jobs.) Source: Eco-Business, 2026: extreme heat reshapes travel in Asia (Booking.com survey) https://www.eco-business.com/id/news/extreme-heat-reshapes-travel-in-asia-nearly-half-of-travellers-changing-plans-survey/ Source: Hong Kong Polytechnic University: climate change and tourism demand risks from extreme heat https://research.polyu.edu.hk/en/publications/climate-change-and-tourism-demand-risks-for-extreme-heat/ ### Education Hot classrooms and closed schools cost children learning that shows up years later as lower skills and earnings. #### Schools close in heatwaves When classrooms become dangerous, schools shut, sometimes for weeks. Leads to: Learning suffers in hot classrooms (Lost school days mean lost learning.); Care burden falls on women and girls (Children at home need someone to look after them.); Hunger and malnutrition (Children who rely on school meals go without them when schools shut.) Source: UNICEF, 2025: Learning interrupted https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024 #### Learning suffers in hot classrooms Studies link hotter school days to measurably lower learning and exam results. Leads to: Lower skills and earnings (Lost learning becomes lower earnings later.) Source: Park, Goodman, Hurwitz and Smith, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020 https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180612 #### Children pulled out of school When families are squeezed, children, often girls, leave school to work, care or fetch water. Leads to: Lower skills and earnings (Leaving school early limits a whole life’s options.) Source: Bakhtiar and Karim, IFPRI, 2025: extreme heat, schooling and child labour in rural Bangladesh https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180558 #### Lower skills and earnings Learning lost today becomes lower skills and lower earnings for a lifetime. Leads to: Deepening inequality (Gaps in learning become gaps in income.) Source: Garg, Jagnani and Taraz, 2020, summarised by Ideas for India: temperature and human capital in India https://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/environment/temperature-and-human-capital-in-india ### Society and security Heat frays the social fabric: it isolates, displaces, divides and widens every existing gap. #### Deepening inequality Every impact lands hardest on those with the least protection, widening gaps in health, income and opportunity. Leads to: Green space follows wealth (Better-off districts can pay for trees and parks, and for the upkeep that keeps them alive.); Children pulled out of school (Poorer households pull children out of school to work, care or fetch water.); Forced migration (When the gap becomes unbearable, people move.) Source: FAO, 2024: heat stress widens the income gap between rural women and men https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-report--heatwaves-and-floods-affect-rural-women-and-men-differently--widen-income-gap Source: Frontiers in Built Environment, 2022: Ahmedabad https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2022.874751/full #### Care burden falls on women and girls When people fall ill, schools close or water runs short, the extra caring and fetching usually falls on women and girls. In India, women already lose about 19% of their paid working hours to heat. Leads to: Deepening inequality (Unpaid care pulls women and girls out of paid work and school.) Source: Climate Resilience for All, 2023, reported by Scientific American: women bear greater burdens from extreme heat https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-experience-greater-burdens-from-extreme-heat #### Older people isolated at home Older people living alone are among the most likely to die in a heatwave. Many victims of Chicago’s 1995 heatwave died alone at home. Leads to: Heat deaths (Older people alone at home are among the most likely to die.) Source: Semenza et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 1996: heat-related deaths in the July 1995 Chicago heatwave https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8649494/ #### Violence and crime rise Hot days are linked to more aggression, domestic violence and violent crime. Leads to: Social trust frays (Violence erodes trust.) Source: Burke, Hsiang and Miguel, Annual Review of Economics, 2015 (NBER working paper) https://www.nber.org/papers/w20598 Source: Zhu et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2023 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10308303/ #### Violence against women rises Across 194,871 women in India, Nepal and Pakistan, each 1 °C rise in yearly temperature was linked to about 4.5% more intimate partner violence, with physical and sexual violence rising most. Under very high emissions it could rise about 21% by the 2090s, against about 6% if warming is held lowest. Lost income, stress and crowded hot homes may all play a part. Leads to: Mental health suffers (Violence leaves lasting harm to mental health.); Deepening inequality (Violence keeps women out of work, decisions and public life.) Source: Zhu et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2023: ambient temperature and intimate partner violence in India, Nepal and Pakistan https://bell-lab.yale.edu/publications/association-ambient-temperature-prevalence-intimate-partner-violence-among-partnered #### Conflict over water and land Where water and pasture shrink, disputes between communities can turn violent. Leads to: Forced migration (Conflict forces people from their homes.); Refugee camps under tarpaulin (Conflict drives people into crowded camps.) Source: Mach et al., Nature, 2019, summarised by Stanford University https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/06/climate-change-cause-armed-conflict #### Greening pushes people out New parks and greening can raise rents and land prices until the poorer residents they were meant to cool are pushed out, often into hotter, more crowded housing. This is green gentrification. Across 28 North American and European cities, greening in the 1990s and 2000s was followed by gentrification in 17. Leads to: Homes that trap heat (People pushed out often land in hotter, more crowded housing.) Source: Anguelovski et al., Nature Communications, 2022: green gentrification in European and North American cities https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1 Source: Bangkok: a master’s thesis on Pathumwananurak Park, built where the Rong Poon community lived https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369538102_Green_Gentrification_and_The_Value_of_Urban_Nature_Case_Study_of_Pathumwananurak_Park_Bangkok #### Forced migration When land, work and water fail, families may be forced to move, often into cities that are hotter still. Leads to: Homes that trap heat (People forced to move often end up in crowded, poorly built housing that traps heat.); Violence against women rises (Displaced women and girls face higher risks of violence and exploitation.); Migrant workers abroad (Some leave the country to work in hotter places.) Source: World Bank, 2021: Groundswell Part II https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050 #### Refugee camps under tarpaulin About a million Rohingya refugees live in the camps of Cox’s Bazar in shelters of bamboo and tarpaulin, which offer little protection from heat. When the April 2024 heatwave pushed temperatures past 40 °C, learning centres across the camps closed for several days. Leads to: Homes that trap heat (Tarpaulin shelters trap heat, with no way to cool.); Schools close in heatwaves (Learning centres close when the heat peaks.) Source: UNICEF Bangladesh: rebuilding education for climate resilience in Cox’s Bazar https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/stories/rebuilding-education-climate-and-disaster-resilience-coxs-bazar Source: Amnesty International Australia: conditions in Cox’s Bazar https://www.amnesty.org.au/the-inhumane-conditions-in-coxs-bazar-and-what-must-be-done-to-support-refugees-looking-for-a-dignified-hopeful-future/ Source: UNFPA: Cox’s Bazar https://www.unfpa.org/coxs-bazar-bangladesh #### Mass gatherings turn deadly Crowds in open sun with little shade or water are deadly. During the 2024 Hajj, more than 1,300 pilgrims died in extreme heat. Leads to: Heat deaths (Crowds in the open sun turn deadly.); Emergency services stretched (Mass casualties overwhelm responders.) Source: Saudi Ministry of Health figures, reported by Gulf News, 2024: 1,301 deaths during Hajj https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/hajj-2024-saudi-arabia-says-1301-deaths-mostly-unregistered-pilgrims-1.1719169731102 #### Social trust frays Hot spells are linked to more conflict between groups, and unequal suffering and failing services can erode trust between neighbours and in institutions. Leads to: Older people isolated at home (Weaker community ties leave more people alone.) Source: Burke, Hsiang and Miguel, Annual Review of Economics, 2015: heat raises conflict between groups https://www.nber.org/papers/w20598 ### Governance and finance The institutions that decide who is protected, and who pays, are themselves strained by heat. #### Emergency services stretched Ambulances, fire crews and emergency rooms are swamped all at once. Leads to: Heat deaths (When responders are stretched, help arrives too late.); Public budgets strained (Reacting after the fact costs far more than preparing.) Source: Times of India via India Environment Portal, 2018: 10,000 heat emergencies in 15 days in Ahmedabad https://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/news-clippings/10000-heat-emergencies-in-15-days #### Public budgets strained Repairs, emergency response, lost tax revenue and relief payments all drain public money. Leads to: Heat protection underfunded (Stretched budgets leave little for heat protection.) Source: Park and Rubinyi, World Bank, 2026: heat deaths in Bangkok cost more than its public health budget https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d8ba6f53-d778-47d2-b4a6-37dff7db2466/full #### Insurance losses and retreat Rising losses push premiums up and insurers out, leaving more people and businesses unprotected. Leads to: Public budgets strained (When insurers retreat, governments carry the losses.); Small businesses close (Uninsured losses close small businesses.) Source: Swiss Re Institute sigma, reported by Global Reinsurance https://www.globalreinsurance.com/home/swiss-re-sigma-protection-gap-laid-bare-as-asian-cat-losses-hit-65bn/1458440.article #### Heat deaths under-recorded Heat is rarely written on death certificates. Most heat deaths are recorded as heart, kidney or lung failure. In India, heatwaves are declared on dry-air temperature from relatively few weather stations, which can miss humid heat where many informal workers live and work. Leads to: Heat protection underfunded (What isn’t counted isn’t funded.) Source: Down To Earth, 2024: the miscalculation in India’s heatwave mortality data https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/lost-in-the-heat-the-critical-miscalculation-in-indias-heatwave-mortality-data Source: NIUA Climate Centre for Cities, 2026: Heat Resilient Cities Framework, p. 10 https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework #### Heat protection underfunded Warnings, cooling centres, outreach and heat-ready services get a small share of budgets compared with floods or storms. Leads to: Heat deaths (Without warnings, cooling centres and outreach, more people die.); Emergency services stretched (Without prevention, emergencies multiply.); Health systems overwhelmed (Clinics aren’t prepared for heat.); Insurance losses and retreat (Unmanaged risk drives insurers away.) Source: Centre for Policy Research, 2023: assessment of 37 heat action plans https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/ #### Help can’t reach remote places In remote villages, islands, hills and river settlements, the nearest clinic, cool shelter or reliable power can be hours away, and heat warnings often do not arrive. Leads to: Heat deaths (When help is hours away, treatable heat illness turns fatal.); Heat deaths under-recorded (Deaths far from clinics are rarely recorded as heat deaths.) Source: Mercy Corps, 2025: extreme heat in Nepal, policy brief https://europe.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/extreme-heat-nepal-policy-brief.pdf #### Loan repayments slip When heat cuts sales, harvests or wages, small firms and households fall behind on loans, and lenders collect less. Leads to: Borrowing costs rise (Lenders respond to missed repayments by charging more, asking for more collateral and lending less.) Source: Aguilar-Gomez et al., summarised in VoxEU, 2024 https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/heatwaves-ripple-financial-system Source: Sa-Dhan, reported by Business Standard, 2024 https://www.business-standard.com/finance/news/micro-loan-asset-quality-deteriorates-in-april-june-quarter-sa-dhan-124082700721_1.html #### Borrowing costs rise Lenders and rating agencies increasingly price climate risk into borrowing. After heat shocks, banks have charged small firms more, asked for more collateral and lent less. Leads to: Public budgets strained (Higher borrowing costs leave less to spend.); Small businesses close (Dearer, scarcer credit leaves small firms unable to restock, cool their premises or ride out the next heatwave.) Source: Aguilar-Gomez et al., summarised in VoxEU, 2024 https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/heatwaves-ripple-financial-system #### Public services disrupted Heat disrupts voting, courts and public offices. On the last day of India’s 2024 general election, Uttar Pradesh’s chief electoral officer said 33 polling staff had died of heat, and more died in Bihar and Odisha. Leads to: Social trust frays (Disruption to public services can test public trust.) Source: AFP via Malay Mail, 2 June 2024 https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/world/2024/06/02/heatstroke-killed-33-indian-polling-staff-on-last-voting-day-says-state-election-chief/137732 Source: Arab News, 2024: heatwave and election workers’ deaths https://www.arabnews.com/node/2521366/amp ## Vicious cycles of extreme heat, and where they can be broken 21 vicious cycles in which extreme heat feeds itself, traps people or overwhelms institutions, with where each one plays out in Asia, the evidence, and the actions that could break it. ### Loops that feed the heat itself #### The global cooling loop Cooling powered by fossil fuels adds to the warming that makes us need more cooling. The cycle: Extreme heat → Energy → Cooling demand peaks → Emissions from cooling rise → back to the start. What this cycle costs (World): 3×. The energy used for cooling could triple by 2050 as air conditioners grow from 1.6 billion to 5.6 billion, unless they become more efficient. (International Energy Agency, 2018, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling) In Southeast Asia (Southeast Asia): 40m → 300m. air conditioners in Southeast Asia between 2017 and 2040, half of them in Indonesia, unless efficiency improves. Cooling could then make up as much as 30% of the region’s peak electricity demand. (International Energy Agency, 2019, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling-in-southeast-asia) Where it plays out: Fast-growing cities across South and Southeast Asia, where air-conditioner ownership is rising quickly. Where it breaks: Clean, efficient cooling Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Minimum energy performance standards for cooling appliances (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_minimum_energy_performance_standards); Transition to purpose-designed low-GWP room AC (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_low_gwp_room_ac_transition); Solar-reflective roof coatings (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_cool_roof_coating); National cooling action plans and cross-sector implementation roadmaps (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_national_cooling_action_plans) - Southeast Asia’s air conditioners could rise from 40 million in 2017 to 300 million in 2040, half of them in Indonesia. Without more efficient units, cooling could drive as much as 30% of the region’s peak electricity demand. (International Energy Agency, 2019, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling-in-southeast-asia) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Southeast Asia. Scale: Region-wide energy model. Limit: A projection to 2040 under stated policies, not a forecast; it changes with efficiency rules. - The world’s stock of air conditioners is set to grow from 1.6 billion to 5.6 billion by 2050, and the energy they use to triple, unless efficiency improves. (International Energy Agency, 2018, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Global. Scale: Global energy model. Limit: A projection to 2050 that assumes current trends; better efficiency changes it. #### The dry-soil loop Heat dries the soil. Dry soil can’t cool itself, so the land heats up faster. The cycle: Extreme heat → Nature and ecosystems → Drying soils → back to the start. What this cycle costs is not yet measured. Where it plays out: Rain-fed farmland on the Indian subcontinent and in mainland Southeast Asia during the hot, dry pre-monsoon months. Where it breaks: Deep emission cuts, Keep water in the soil Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Organic residue mulch for cooler crop root zones (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_organic_soil_mulch); Shade-tree agroforestry for crops (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_crop_agroforestry); Permeable pavements retaining rainfall for evaporative surface cooling (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_permeable_pavements) - Reviews the evidence that dry soils amplify hot temperatures: with less water to evaporate, more of the sun’s energy goes into heating the air. (Seneviratne et al., Earth-Science Reviews, 2010, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.004) Type: Peer-reviewed review. Where: Global. Scale: Review of many studies. Limit: Explains a general mechanism; how strong it is varies by region and season. #### The melting-ice loop Heat melts ice. Darker ground and water absorb more sunlight, and the melting speeds up. The cycle: Extreme heat → Nature and ecosystems → Glacier and snow melt → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Hindu Kush Himalaya): 30–50%. of the region’s glacier ice could be gone by 2100 at 1.5–2 °C of warming, after melting 65% faster in the 2010s than the decade before. (ICIMOD, 2023, https://lib.icimod.org/record/36322) In Southeast Asia (Papua, Indonesia): 99%. of the glacier area on Puncak Jaya, Southeast Asia’s last tropical ice, has gone since 1850. Only about 0.17 km² was left in 2024, and it will very likely disappear around 2030. (Ibel, Mölg and Sommer, The Cryosphere, 2025, https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/6629/2025/) Where it plays out: The Hindu Kush Himalaya, whose snow and ice feed rivers such as the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. Where it breaks: Deep emission cuts, Cut black carbon Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Minimum energy performance standards for cooling appliances (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_minimum_energy_performance_standards); Transition to purpose-designed low-GWP room AC (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_low_gwp_room_ac_transition); National cooling action plans and cross-sector implementation roadmaps (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_national_cooling_action_plans) - Puncak Jaya’s glaciers, the last in Southeast Asia, have lost more than 99% of their area since 1850 and about 65% since 2018. About 0.165 km² remained in 2024, and they will very likely be gone around 2030. (Ibel, Mölg and Sommer, The Cryosphere, 2025, https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/6629/2025/) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: Puncak Jaya, Indonesia. Scale: One glacier field, satellite and field data. Limit: One site; the 2030 date is the authors’ estimate. - Glaciers lost ice 65% faster in the 2010s than in the decade before. At 1.5–2 °C of warming, glaciers across the region lose 30–50% of their volume by 2100. (ICIMOD, 2023, https://lib.icimod.org/record/36322) Type: Agency assessment. Where: Hindu Kush Himalaya. Scale: Region-wide synthesis. Limit: Volume losses are projections that depend on how much warming happens. #### The wildfire loop Heat dries forests into fuel. Fires release carbon and strip away the trees that cool the land. The cycle: Extreme heat → Nature and ecosystems → Wildfires → back to the start. What this cycle costs (World): +50%. more extreme wildfires are projected by the end of the century, and up to 14% more by 2030. (UNEP and GRID-Arendal, 2022, https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires) In Southeast Asia (Indonesia): US$16.1 billion. was the cost to Indonesia of the forest and peatland fires of June to October 2015. (World Bank, 2016, https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/776101467990969768/pdf/103668-BRI-Cost-of-Fires-Knowledge-Note-PUBLIC-ADD-NEW-SERIES-Indonesia-Sustainable-Landscapes-Knowledge-Note.pdf) Where it plays out: The dry-season burning belt of northern Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, and Indonesia’s peatlands. Where it breaks: Deep emission cuts, Fire-smart landscapes Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Locally calibrated impact-based heat-warning triggers (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_impact_based_warning); Pre-agreed heat anticipatory action and forecast finance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_forecast_based_finance); Pooled pre-arranged finance for heat action (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_pooled_risk_finance) - Indonesia’s forest and peatland fires of June to October 2015 cost the country an estimated US$16.1 billion. (World Bank, 2016, https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/776101467990969768/pdf/103668-BRI-Cost-of-Fires-Knowledge-Note-PUBLIC-ADD-NEW-SERIES-Indonesia-Sustainable-Landscapes-Knowledge-Note.pdf) Type: Agency report, economic estimate. Where: Indonesia. Scale: National, one fire season (2015). Limit: One exceptional year, in an El Niño; costs in other years differ. - Climate change and land-use change are making wildfires worse. Extreme fires are projected to rise by up to 14% by 2030 and 50% by the end of the century. (UNEP and GRID-Arendal, 2022, https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Global. Scale: Global assessment. Limit: Global projections; not broken down for Asian countries. ### Loops that break the systems we rely on #### The cooling trap Air conditioning heats the street, and a hotter city needs even more air conditioning. The cycle: Cooling demand peaks → Urban heat islands → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Singapore): Up to 7 °C. warmer: how much hotter Singapore’s commercial centre has measured than its outskirts on calm, clear nights. (Cooling Singapore, citing Chow and Roth, 2006, https://www.thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf) Where it plays out: Dense, high-rise city cores such as Hong Kong, Bangkok and Metro Manila. Where it breaks: Cool by design, Green, cool cities Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Solar-reflective roof coatings (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_cool_roof_coating); Street trees and retained mature canopy (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_street_trees); Efficient BLDC ceiling fans (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#active_bldc_ceiling_fan); Coordinated fans and higher-setpoint air conditioning (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#active_fan_assisted_ac_control) - In a Phoenix heatwave, waste heat from air conditioners raised night-time air temperatures by more than 1 °C in parts of the city. (Salamanca et al., Journal of Geophysical Research, 2014 (summary by Arizona State University), https://news.asu.edu/content/excess-heat-air-conditioners-causes-higher-nighttime-temperatures) Type: Peer-reviewed modelling study. Where: Phoenix, United States. Scale: One city, simulated heatwave. Limit: A desert city outside Asia; the size of the effect in humid Asian cities is not measured here. Our reading: We use it for the mechanism, not the number: waste heat from cooling warms the street outside. - China, India and Indonesia are expected to account for half of the world’s air conditioners by 2050. (International Energy Agency, 2018, https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Global. Scale: Global energy model. Limit: A projection to 2050 that assumes current trends. - Chennai’s built-up area more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, and night-time land surface temperatures in its urban areas run about 2 °C higher than on its peri-urban edges. (Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 2024, https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf) Type: Government strategy. Where: Chennai and Tamil Nadu, India. Scale: State-wide, satellite land surface temperature. Limit: Land surface temperature, not the air temperature people breathe; the two differ. - Singapore’s commercial centre has measured up to about 7 °C warmer than its outskirts on calm, clear nights. (Cooling Singapore, citing Chow and Roth, 2006, https://www.thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf) Type: Research programme summary of a peer-reviewed study. Where: Singapore. Scale: City-wide measurements. Limit: The 7 °C is a maximum on calm, clear nights, not a typical night. #### The energy–water loop Water systems need power and power plants need water. In a heatwave, each failure deepens the other. The cycle: Power cuts and grid stress → Water shortages → Power plants cut output → back to the start. What this cycle costs (India): 14 TWh. of electricity lost in India in 2016 because thermal power plants ran short of water. (World Resources Institute, 2018, https://www.wri.org/insights/40-indias-thermal-power-plants-are-water-scarce-areas-threatening-shutdowns) In Southeast Asia (Vietnam): US$1.4 billion. was the World Bank’s early estimate of what northern Vietnam’s power cuts cost in May and June 2023, about 0.3% of GDP, after heatwaves pushed up demand and dried hydropower reservoirs. (World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023, https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp) Where it plays out: Coal-fired power plants along water-stressed rivers in India. Where it breaks: Power that doesn’t need water, Backup power for water Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Solar/hybrid pumping with water storage for resilient water service (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_water_power_resilience); Heatwave grid-readiness planning and emergency resource coordination (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_heatwave_grid_readiness); Demand response and scheduled flexible loads to relieve heat-period peaks (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_demand_flexibility); Minimum energy performance standards for cooling appliances (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_minimum_energy_performance_standards) - Heatwaves in May and June 2023 pushed up demand while hydropower reservoirs ran low, and rolling blackouts hit northern Vietnam. The World Bank’s early estimate put the cost at about US$1.4 billion, roughly 0.3% of GDP. (World Bank estimate, reported by AFP via The Manila Times, 2023, https://manilatimes.net/2023/08/12/business/foreign-business/power-crisis-cost-vietnam-14b-wb/1904920/amp) Type: News report of a World Bank early estimate. Where: Northern Vietnam. Scale: National, one season (2023). Limit: An early estimate reported in the press; drought and demand both played a part. - 14 of India’s 20 largest thermal utilities shut down at least once for lack of water between 2013 and 2016. Water shortages cost 14 TWh of power in 2016. (World Resources Institute, 2018, https://www.wri.org/insights/40-indias-thermal-power-plants-are-water-scarce-areas-threatening-shutdowns) Type: Research institute analysis. Where: India. Scale: 20 largest thermal utilities, 2013–2016. Limit: Data from before 2017; plants and water rules have changed since. #### The groundwater loop Dry fields need more water, so farmers pump harder, aquifers fall and the shortage deepens. The cycle: Water shortages → Irrigation demand soars → Groundwater over-pumped → back to the start. What this cycle costs (India): 109 km³. of groundwater lost from Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana in six years (2002–2008), mainly to irrigation, while rainfall stayed close to normal. (Rodell, Velicogna and Famiglietti, Nature, 2009, https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08238) In Southeast Asia (Mekong delta, Vietnam): 2.5 cm+. a year: how fast parts of the Mekong delta are sinking as its aquifers are pumped down. (Minderhoud et al., Environmental Research Communications, 2020, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ab5e21) Where it plays out: Punjab and Haryana in northwest India, where groundwater tables have been falling for decades. Where it breaks: Smart irrigation and groundwater rules Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Organic residue mulch for cooler crop root zones (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_organic_soil_mulch); Shade-net structures for crop microclimate protection (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_crop_shade_nets); Shade-tree agroforestry for crops (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_crop_agroforestry) - Groundwater pumping has sped up the sinking of the Mekong delta, to more than 2.5 cm a year in some areas. (Minderhoud et al., Environmental Research Communications, 2020, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ab5e21) Type: Peer-reviewed modelling study. Where: Mekong delta, Vietnam. Scale: Delta-wide model. Limit: Sinking rates vary across the delta; the top rate is not everywhere. - Satellites show Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana lost 109 km³ of groundwater between 2002 and 2008, mainly to irrigation, while rainfall stayed close to normal. (Rodell, Velicogna and Famiglietti, Nature, 2009, https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08238) Type: Peer-reviewed study, satellite data. Where: Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, India. Scale: Three states, 2002–2008. Limit: An older period; it measures water lost, not the heat link itself. Our reading: The heat link is ours: hotter, drier seasons raise the pull on groundwater that this study measures. #### The dying-green loop Heat and drought kill city trees. Without their shade the streets get hotter, and hotter streets kill more trees. The cycle: City trees and parks die → Urban heat islands → back to the start. What this cycle costs (164 cities worldwide): 76%. of urban tree and shrub species in 164 cities could face temperatures beyond their natural range by 2050, up from 56% today. Risk is highest in cities such as New Delhi and Singapore. (Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022, https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf) Where it plays out: Hot, fast-growing cities such as New Delhi and Singapore, where every urban tree species studied is at risk from rising heat. Where it breaks: Keep city trees alive Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Street trees and retained mature canopy (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_street_trees); Community maintenance arrangements backed by public/service support (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_community_maintenance); Blue-green river corridors and naturalised drainage landscapes (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_bluegreen_corridors); Permeable pavements retaining rainfall for evaporative surface cooling (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_permeable_pavements) - Of 3,129 tree and shrub species in 164 cities, 56% already face temperatures beyond those in their natural range, rising to about 76% by 2050 under a mid-range warming scenario. Risk is highest in low-latitude cities such as New Delhi and Singapore. (Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022, https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: 164 cities in 78 countries. Scale: 3,129 species. Limit: Compares climate to each species’ natural range; trees can survive outside it with care. - Drought stops urban trees from cooling through transpiration. In one Berlin park more than 500 of 870 new trees died within ten years despite watering, and Berlin cut about 44,000 street trees between 2012 and 2019 while planting about 18,000. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) Type: Book chapter, peer-reviewed. Where: Berlin, Jakarta, Melbourne and Santiago. Scale: Four city cases. Limit: The tree figures are from Berlin; Asian evidence on tree loss in heat is thinner. Our reading: We take the lesson that new trees need years of water and care, wherever they are planted. - Tree shade sharply lowers the radiant heat people feel by day, which is the cooling lost when trees die. (Middel et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10230332-grades-shade) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: Tempe, United States. Scale: Street-level measurements. Limit: A desert city; humid cities gain less from shade alone, though shade still cuts radiant heat. #### The overwhelmed-clinic loop Heat illness floods clinics. Overwhelmed clinics treat people later, and more cases become severe. The cycle: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Health systems overwhelmed → back to the start. What breaking it saves (Ahmedabad, India): 1,190. deaths a year were estimated to be avoided after Ahmedabad’s heat action plan prepared hospitals and warned the public. (Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/) Where it plays out: District and city hospitals during South Asia’s pre-monsoon heatwaves. Where it breaks: Heat action plans, Heat-ready health services Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Heat-ready clinic protocols and staff capability (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_clinic_readiness); Heat surge staffing, triage and referral coordination (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_surge_referral); Resilient power for health-facility cooling and cold-chain loads (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_health_critical_power); Locally calibrated impact-based heat-warning triggers (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_impact_based_warning) - Heat-related deaths among people over 65 reached a record 167% above the 1990s level in 2023. (Lancet Countdown, The Lancet, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01822-1) Type: Peer-reviewed global assessment. Where: Global. Scale: Global indicators. Limit: A global figure; it does not give Asia’s share. - After Ahmedabad’s heat action plan prepared hospitals and warned the public, an estimated 1,190 deaths a year were avoided. (Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/) Type: Peer-reviewed evaluation. Where: Ahmedabad, India. Scale: One city, before and after the plan. Limit: A pilot evaluation; other changes over the same years could explain part of the drop. ### Loops that trap people #### The poverty–heat trap People who can’t afford to stop working fall ill. Illness costs income, and lost income makes stopping even less affordable. The cycle: Informal workers can’t stop work → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Lost work hours and wages → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Bangladesh): US$1.78 billion. Heat-related illness cost Bangladesh 250 million workdays in 2024, about 0.4% of its GDP. (World Bank, 2025, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/09/16/bangladesh-faces-health-and-economic-risks-from-rising-temperature-world-bank) In Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Thailand): 75%. of home-based workers in Bangkok lost at least a day’s work a month to their own or a family member’s heat illness. Nearly 80% of informal workers surveyed cut their hours because of heat. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf) Where it plays out: Construction sites, brick kilns, farms and street markets across South and Southeast Asia. Where it breaks: Heat-safe work, Income protection in heatwaves, Social protection floors Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Paid rest, shade and drinking-water protocols (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_paid_recovery); Reschedule work and reduce peak-heat task exposure (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_workhour_changes); Parametric heat insurance for income shocks (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_parametric_heat_insurance); Scale up existing social protection for heat risk (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_shock_responsive_social_protection) - In a survey of informal workers in Bangkok, nearly 80% had cut their hours because of heat, and 75% of home-based workers lost at least one day of work a month to their own or a family member’s heat illness. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf) Type: Survey. Where: Bangkok, Thailand. Scale: Informal workers in one city. Limit: Self-reported, from workers in one city. - Across 2.7 million firms in 23 advanced economies, including Japan and Korea, ten extra days above 35 °C cut yearly labour productivity by 0.3%, and over 1.5% above 40 °C. Very humid places lost 0.75%, more than double the average. Korea has already lost about 0.15% of productivity to added heat since the early 2000s. (OECD Economics Department, Working Paper No. 1828, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en) Type: Working paper. Where: 23 advanced economies, including Japan and Korea. Scale: 2.7 million firms. Limit: Rich economies with formal firms; informal work in South and Southeast Asia is not covered. Our reading: If formal firms in rich economies lose this much, the losses where work is outdoors and informal are likely larger, but that is not measured here. - Up to three-quarters of India’s workforce, about 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed labour, work that produces nearly half of the country’s GDP. (World Bank, 2022, reported by Down To Earth, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/heatwaves-in-india-could-soon-break-human-survivability-limit-says-world-bank-analysis-86431) Type: Agency report, reported by the press. Where: India. Scale: National estimate. Limit: A broad estimate of heat-exposed work, not a count of workers harmed. - Heat stress is projected to cost 2.2% of all working hours by 2030, equal to 80 million full-time jobs. South Asia is among the worst hit, losing about 5% of working hours. (International Labour Organization, 2019, https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/increase-heat-stress-predicted-bring-productivity-loss-equivalent-80) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Global, with regional figures. Scale: Global model. Limit: A projection to 2030 at about 1.5 °C of warming. - Heat exposure put a record 512 billion potential labour hours at risk in 2023, with potential income losses of US$835 billion. (Lancet Countdown, The Lancet, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01822-1) Type: Peer-reviewed global assessment. Where: Global. Scale: Global indicators. Limit: Potential hours and income at risk, not hours actually lost. - Heat-related illness cost Bangladesh 250 million workdays in 2024, worth up to US$1.78 billion, about 0.4% of GDP. Since 1980 the ‘feels-like’ temperature has risen by 4.5 °C. (World Bank, 2025, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/09/16/bangladesh-faces-health-and-economic-risks-from-rising-temperature-world-bank) Type: Agency report. Where: Bangladesh. Scale: National survey and model. Limit: Combines survey and modelling; the money value is an upper estimate. #### The medical-debt trap Treatment costs push families into debt. Debt removes any option to rest, and working through the heat brings more illness. The cycle: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Medical costs and debt → Informal workers can’t stop work → back to the start. What this cycle costs (India): 29 million. Indian households faced catastrophic spending on medicines alone in 2011–12. This is the scale of the trap from all illness, not heat alone. (Selvaraj, Farooqui and Karan, BMJ Open, 2018, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e018020) In Southeast Asia (Cambodia): US$5,800+. was the average microloan in Cambodia in 2024, over four times the median income per person. This is all borrowing, not heat alone, but it is the debt families draw on when illness or a lost harvest strikes. (Human Rights Watch, 2025, https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/09/24/debt-traps/predatory-microfinance-loans-and-exploitation-of-cambodias-indigenous) Where it plays out: Households without health insurance, where most medical costs are paid out of pocket. Where it breaks: Heat-safe work, Free care for heat illness Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Reduce financial barriers to heat-related care (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_financial_access_to_care); Heat-triggered cash outside an insurance contract (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_noninsurance_cash); Scale up existing social protection for heat risk (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_shock_responsive_social_protection); Community-health-worker heat education and referral (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_community_heat_education) - Cambodia’s average microloan was over US$5,800 in 2024, more than four times the country’s median annual income per person. (Human Rights Watch, 2025, https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/09/24/debt-traps/predatory-microfinance-loans-and-exploitation-of-cambodias-indigenous) Type: Human rights investigation. Where: Cambodia. Scale: National loan data with interviews. Limit: Shows how heavy debt is; it does not measure the part heat plays. - Medicine costs alone were catastrophic for 11.2% of Indian households in 2011–12, about 29 million households. (Selvaraj, Farooqui and Karan, BMJ Open, 2018, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/5/e018020) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: India. Scale: National household survey, 2011–12. Limit: Older data on all medicine costs, not heat illness alone. Our reading: We read it as the hole a heat illness can fall into; the study does not single out heat. - In a survey of more than 2,000 residents of five cities, heat harmed health, cut incomes and working hours, and pushed some households towards high-interest loans. Women and people with disabilities faced the hardest trade-offs between health, work and care. (American Red Cross, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Nepal Red Cross Society and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, 2026, https://www.climatecentre.org/publications/17312/the-lived-experiences-of-vulnerable-populations-in-the-context-of-extreme-heat-a-comprehensive-narrative-report-based-on-survey-data-from-five-cities-in-nepal-and-bangladesh/) Type: Survey. Where: Five cities in Nepal and Bangladesh. Scale: More than 2,000 residents. Limit: Reported experiences; it does not measure how often loans followed heat. #### The energy-poverty trap People who can’t afford to cool fall ill. Illness brings debt, and debt puts cooling even further out of reach. The cycle: Can’t afford to keep cool → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Medical costs and debt → back to the start. What this cycle costs (World): 1.12 billion. of the world’s rural and urban poor are at high risk because they lack access to cooling. (Sustainable Energy for All, 2023, https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023) Where it plays out: Tin-roofed informal settlements in cities such as Dhaka, Karachi and Mumbai. Where it breaks: Free care for heat illness, Affordable cooling for the poorest Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Prevent heat-period electricity/water disconnection for inability to pay (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_utility_heat_protection); Solar-reflective roof coatings (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_cool_roof_coating); Efficient BLDC ceiling fans (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#active_bldc_ceiling_fan); On-bill financing and tariff-based cost recovery for efficient cooling (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#system_on_bill_finance) - 1.12 billion of the rural and urban poor are at high risk because they lack access to cooling. (Sustainable Energy for All, 2023, https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023) Type: Agency report. Where: Global, with country estimates. Scale: Global model. Limit: Risk of lacking cooling, estimated from income, power and heat data, not a direct survey. #### The displacement loop People forced to move often land in heat-trapping housing, fall ill, lose income, fall further behind, and are forced to move again. The cycle: Forced migration → Homes that trap heat → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Lost work hours and wages → Deepening inequality → back to the start. What this cycle costs (South Asia): 40 million. people in South Asia could be forced to move within their own countries by 2050 without action, of up to 216 million worldwide. (World Bank, 2021, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36248) In Southeast Asia (East Asia and the Pacific): 49 million. people in East Asia and the Pacific could be forced to move within their own countries by 2050 without action. (World Bank, 2021, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050) Where it plays out: Migrant settlements on the edges of fast-growing cities such as Dhaka. Where it breaks: Income protection in heatwaves, Cool, affordable housing Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Independent over-roof shade, including ventilated PV shade (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_independent_roof_shade); Public air-conditioned cooling centre or shared refuge (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#active_public_cooling_centre); Multilingual heat information and routes for migrant workers (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_multilingual_migrant_access); Heat-vulnerability mapping linked to beneficiary targeting (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_vulnerability_targeting) - Without action, as many as 49 million people in East Asia and the Pacific could become internal climate migrants by 2050. (World Bank, 2021, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: East Asia and the Pacific. Scale: Regional model. Limit: A worst-case scenario to 2050; covers all climate drivers, not heat alone. - Without action, climate change could force up to 216 million people to move within their own countries by 2050, including about 40 million in South Asia. (World Bank, 2021, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/36248) Type: Agency report, with projections. Where: Six world regions. Scale: Global model. Limit: A worst-case scenario to 2050; covers all climate drivers, not heat alone. #### The lost-schooling loop Children pulled out of school earn less as adults, and poorer families pull more children out of school. The cycle: Children pulled out of school → Lower skills and earnings → Deepening inequality → back to the start. What this cycle costs (World): 171 million. students had their schooling disrupted by heatwaves in 2024. South Asia was the most affected region. (UNICEF, 2025, https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024) In Southeast Asia (Philippines): 3.6 million. students in the Philippines lost classroom learning in early April 2024, when 5,288 schools switched to remote learning as the heat index reached danger levels. (AFP via Malay Mail, April 2024, https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2024/04/05/thousands-of-philippine-schools-suspend-in-person-classes-due-to-heat-says-education-dept/127511) Where it plays out: School systems that closed classrooms during the 2024 heatwaves, including in the Philippines and Bangladesh. Where it breaks: Keep children in school Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): School heat operating plans, water access and escalation (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_school_heat_operations); Closure decisions with offline learning continuity (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_learning_continuity); Schoolyard greening, depaving and shade as a coordinated retrofit (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_schoolyard_greening); Heat-responsive school timetables and activity changes (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_school_timetables) - Without air conditioning, each 1 °F hotter school year cuts that year’s learning by about 1%, and the losses fall hardest on disadvantaged students. (Park, Goodman, Hurwitz and Smith, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020, https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180612) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: United States. Scale: 10 million students. Limit: US schools and tests; the size of the effect in Asian classrooms is not known. Our reading: We use it for direction: hotter school years mean less learning, and the poorest lose most. - Heatwaves disrupted schooling for an estimated 171 million students in 2024. South Asia was the most affected region. (UNICEF, 2025, https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024) Type: Agency report. Where: Global, by region. Scale: Global count from news and official reports. Limit: Counts students affected by closures or shorter days, not learning lost. - In early April 2024, 5,288 schools across the Philippines switched to remote learning as the heat index reached danger levels, affecting more than 3.6 million students. (AFP via Malay Mail, April 2024, https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2024/04/05/thousands-of-philippine-schools-suspend-in-person-classes-due-to-heat-says-education-dept/127511) Type: News report. Where: Philippines. Scale: 5,288 schools, April 2024. Limit: A snapshot of one week, from official figures quoted in the press. - Bangladesh closed schools for about 33 million children in its April 2024 heatwave, and Cambodia cut the school day by two hours. (NBC News, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/schools-close-extreme-heat-philippines-bangladesh-asia-rcna149485) Type: News report. Where: Bangladesh and Cambodia. Scale: National, April 2024. Limit: News figures from official announcements. #### The sleepless-nights loop Hot nights wreck sleep. Poor sleep frays mental health, and stress makes sleep harder still. The cycle: Sleepless hot nights → Mental health suffers → back to the start. What this cycle costs (India): 70%. of India’s districts gained five or more very warm nights each summer over the last decade. Mumbai gained 15. (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2025, https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-how-extreme-heat-is-impacting-india-final-web-file.pdf) In Southeast Asia (Singapore): 76 → most nights. Singapore has averaged 76 warm nights a year, above 26.3 °C, over the last 40 years. By the end of the century such nights could come on most nights of the year. (National Environment Agency, Singapore, 2024, https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/latest-climate-projections-for-singapore-show-intensifying-urban-heat-and-more-wet-dry-extremes) Where it plays out: Tropical cities whose nights stay hot, such as Bangkok, Chennai and Ho Chi Minh City. Where it breaks: Cool nights and support Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Night flushing / night-purge ventilation (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_night_flushing); Solar-reflective roof coatings (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_cool_roof_coating); Efficient BLDC ceiling fans (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#active_bldc_ceiling_fan); Night-time and round-the-clock outreach with heat escalation (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_night_outreach) - Singapore averaged 76 warm nights a year (above 26.3 °C) over the last 40 years; by the end of the century such nights could occur on most nights of the year. (National Environment Agency, Singapore, 2024, https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/latest-climate-projections-for-singapore-show-intensifying-urban-heat-and-more-wet-dry-extremes) Type: Government climate study. Where: Singapore. Scale: National, with projections. Limit: End-of-century figures depend on the emissions scenario. - Data from 47,628 people in 68 countries shows hot nights shorten sleep, with bigger losses for older people and in lower-income countries. (Minor et al., One Earth, 2022, https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/rising-temperatures-erode-human-sleep-globally/) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: 68 countries. Scale: 47,628 people, sleep wristbands. Limit: Most wearers live in higher-income countries; the poorest, who sleep hottest, are under-represented. - A review of 114 studies links higher temperatures with poorer mental health, including higher suicide rates. (Thompson et al., The Lancet Planetary Health, 2023 (summary by Imperial College London), https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/246058/rising-temperatures-associated-with-poorer-mental/) Type: Peer-reviewed review and meta-analysis. Where: Global. Scale: 114 studies. Limit: Shows an association, not proof of cause. - Over the last decade, nearly 70% of India’s districts gained five or more very warm nights each summer, while only about 28% saw a similar rise in very hot days. Mumbai gained 15 very warm nights a summer, and Bengaluru 11. (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2025, https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-how-extreme-heat-is-impacting-india-final-web-file.pdf) Type: Research institute analysis. Where: India, by district. Scale: All districts, 1982–2022. Limit: Based on reanalysis data, which can miss very local differences. - Tamil Nadu’s summer minimum temperatures have risen by about 0.75 °C since the 1980s, and about 56% of its people now live where summer nights are warmer than the 1981–2011 average. (Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 2024, https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf) Type: Government strategy. Where: Tamil Nadu, India. Scale: State-wide. Limit: State-level averages; neighbourhoods differ. #### The green-displacement loop Green space follows wealth. When greening reaches poorer districts without protection, rents rise, residents are pushed into hotter housing, and the gap grows. The cycle: Deepening inequality → Green space follows wealth → Greening pushes people out → Homes that trap heat → back to the start. What this cycle costs (28 cities in North America and Europe): 17 of 28. cities studied saw greening in the 1990s and 2000s strongly linked to gentrification between 2000 and 2016. (Anguelovski et al., Nature Communications, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1) Where it plays out: Riverbanks, canals and old inner-city sites turned into parks, as studied in Bangkok and Seoul. Where it breaks: Green without pushing people out Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Women-led co-design and worker governance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_women_led_codesign); Heat-vulnerability mapping linked to beneficiary targeting (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_vulnerability_targeting); Community maintenance arrangements backed by public/service support (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_community_maintenance) - Across 28 cities in 9 countries, greening in the 1990s and 2000s was strongly linked to gentrification between 2000 and 2016 in 17 of them. (Anguelovski et al., Nature Communications, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31572-1) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: 28 cities in Europe and North America. Scale: 28 cities, 2000–2016. Limit: No Asian cities in the sample. Our reading: We treat it as a warning for Asia’s greening plans, not proof it happens the same way there. - Green space tends to favour wealthier neighbourhoods, and new parks meant to fix that can raise housing costs and displace the residents they were meant to help. Small, local projects are more likely to reach those who need them. (Wolch, Byrne and Newell, Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017) Type: Peer-reviewed review. Where: Mostly the United States. Scale: Literature review. Limit: Mostly US evidence. - Fieldwork on how recent gentrification in Bangkok, including green urban renewal, affects the city’s lower-income residents. (Endo, The Developing Economies, 2026, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/deve.70013) Type: Peer-reviewed field study. Where: Bangkok, Thailand. Scale: One city, fieldwork. Limit: Qualitative; it does not measure how many people moved. - Nature-based solutions can deepen injustice when benefits flow to some and costs, including displacement, fall on others; procedural, distributional and recognition justice all need attention. (Chapter 3 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) Type: Book chapter, peer-reviewed. Where: Global. Scale: Review. Limit: A framework for justice, not a measure of harm. #### The heat credit squeeze Heat empties shops and small firms miss repayments. Banks tighten credit, so firms can’t afford to adapt, and the next heatwave hits harder. The cycle: Small businesses close → Loan repayments slip → Borrowing costs rise → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Delhi, India): 49%. of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed lost income in the 2024 heatwaves, and 80% saw fewer customers. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) Where it plays out: Market towns and city high streets in heat-exposed districts, and lenders whose loans are collected door to door, as in microfinance across northern and central India. Where it breaks: Heat-smart lending Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Heat-relevant housing and cooling credit with technical appraisal (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_heat_smart_lending); Public shade structures, sails and market/queue canopies (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_public_shade_structures); Parametric heat insurance for income shocks (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_parametric_heat_insurance); A fallback funding layer when an index misses real harm (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_basis_risk_fallback) - Across 2.7 million firms in 23 advanced economies, heat cut the productivity of small firms while medium and large firms showed no loss, and the largest grew revenue about 0.6 points faster than small firms after hot years. Losses lasted up to two years. Restaurants and hotels were hit hard, partly through lower demand. (OECD Economics Department, Working Paper No. 1828, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en) Type: Working paper. Where: 23 advanced economies. Scale: 2.7 million firms. Limit: Rich economies; small informal firms in Asia are not covered. - Loan-level bank data from Mexico show that ten extra days of extreme heat in a quarter raise small-business loan delinquency by about 4%, mainly among firms that depend on local customers. Banks then raise rates, ask for more collateral and lend less for two to three quarters. (Aguilar-Gomez et al., summarised in VoxEU, 2024, https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/heatwaves-ripple-financial-system) Type: Research summary of a peer-reviewed study. Where: Mexico. Scale: National bank loan data. Limit: Outside Asia; how Asian banks respond is not yet measured. Our reading: We read it as a likely pattern for Asian lenders, to be checked against their own loan books. - India’s microfinance industry body said loan quality worsened in April–June 2024, partly because heatwaves cut borrowers’ incomes and lenders’ collections. (Sa-Dhan, reported by Business Standard, 2024, https://www.business-standard.com/finance/news/micro-loan-asset-quality-deteriorates-in-april-june-quarter-sa-dhan-124082700721_1.html) Type: News report of an industry statement. Where: India. Scale: National microfinance sector, one quarter. Limit: Heat is one named cause among several, not measured on its own. - A caution for lenders: in Cambodia, researchers found that borrowing to get through climate shocks often delayed the harm rather than removing it, leaving households more indebted for the next shock. (King’s College London, 2023, https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/new-study-finds-that-microfinance-is-exacerbating-climate-precarity-and-harm-in-cambodia) Type: Research summary. Where: Cambodia. Scale: Fieldwork with borrowers. Limit: About climate shocks in general, not heat alone. - Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in April and May 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) Type: Survey. Where: Delhi, India. Scale: 721 street vendors. Limit: Self-reported, from one city in one season. - Car dealers said heat cut showroom footfall by about 15% in June 2024, leaving them with 62–67 days of unsold stock against a recommended three weeks. A sign of where to look; the link to their loans is not yet measured. (Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, reported by Orissa Post, 2024, https://www.orissapost.com/passenger-vehicle-retail-sales-dip-7-in-june-as-heatwave-curtails-showroom-visits/amp/) Type: News report of industry data. Where: India. Scale: National car retail, one month. Limit: Dealers’ own account; the link to their loans is not measured. #### The farm-debt loop A failed harvest pushes farmers into debt. Debt leaves less for seed, water and fertiliser, so the next harvest fails more easily. The cycle: Failing harvests → Farmers fall into debt → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Philippines): −10%. rice yield for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature, at the International Rice Research Institute’s farm in the Philippines. (Peng et al., PNAS, 2004, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101) Where it plays out: Rain-fed farming districts of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where a failed season often means borrowing from moneylenders. Where it breaks: Crop insurance and fair credit Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Shade-net structures for crop microclimate protection (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_crop_shade_nets); Organic residue mulch for cooler crop root zones (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#passive_organic_soil_mulch); Parametric heat insurance for income shocks (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_parametric_heat_insurance); Pre-agreed heat anticipatory action and forecast finance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_forecast_based_finance) - Heat raises suicide rates in India only during the growing season, when it also cuts crop yields, pointing to farm income losses. The findings have been debated. (Carleton, PNAS, 2017, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5565417/) Type: Peer-reviewed study. Where: India. Scale: National, 1967–2013. Limit: An association that has been debated; it does not prove debt is the cause. - Days above 34 °C make wheat in northern India age early, and crop models may underestimate yield losses at +2 °C by as much as 50%. (Lobell, Sibley and Ortiz-Monasterio, Nature Climate Change, 2012, https://fsi.stanford.edu/node/26622) Type: Peer-reviewed study, satellite data. Where: Northern India. Scale: Wheat region, satellite records. Limit: About wheat only; it shows how models can miss losses. - At the International Rice Research Institute’s farm in the Philippines, rice yields fell by about 10% for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature, while daytime highs had little effect. (Peng et al., PNAS, 2004, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101) Type: Peer-reviewed field study. Where: Los Baños, Philippines. Scale: One research farm, 1992–2003. Limit: One site; later studies find varied effects across regions. ### Loops inside institutions #### The invisible-deaths loop Heat deaths go uncounted, so heat protection goes unfunded, so more people die uncounted. The cycle: Heat deaths → Heat deaths under-recorded → Heat protection underfunded → back to the start. What this cycle costs (India): 48,385 vs 185. suspected heatstroke cases against confirmed heatstroke deaths in India in 2024, up to 28 July: most of the toll goes uncounted. (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 2024, https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf) Where it plays out: Much of Asia, where death certificates rarely record heat as a cause. Where it breaks: Count every heat death, Cooling centres and check-ins Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Timely heat-illness and death surveillance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_heat_illness_surveillance); All-cause and excess-mortality analysis for heat attribution (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_excess_mortality); Heat-death investigation and consistent certification (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_heat_death_certification); Dedicated and traceable heat operating budgets (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_dedicated_heat_budgets) - Suspected heatstroke cases rose from 4,481 in 2022 to 48,385 by 28 July 2024, while confirmed heatstroke deaths rose only from 33 to 185. (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 6 August 2024, https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf) Type: Government data. Where: India. Scale: National surveillance. Limit: Counts what gets reported; reporting improves over time, so part of the rise is better counting. - In 2020, India’s crime records bureau recorded 530 heatstroke deaths while the disaster agency recorded four. Different systems count differently, which makes the full toll hard to see. (Associated Press via PBS NewsHour, 2024, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/india-likely-undercounts-heat-related-deaths-tempering-its-response-officials-say) Type: News report. Where: India. Scale: National, two agencies’ records. Limit: Compares two official counts in one year. - Death certificates usually record only the immediate cause, such as heart failure, so heat as the trigger goes unrecorded. (Down To Earth, 2024, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/lost-in-the-heat-the-critical-miscalculation-in-indias-heatwave-mortality-data) Type: News analysis. Where: India. Scale: National. Limit: Describes how deaths are recorded; it does not estimate the missing number. - Between 1 March and 26 July 2026, India’s heat surveillance, covering more than 51,000 reporting units, logged 4,853 heatstroke cases but only 20 heatstroke deaths. (Ministry of Home Affairs, reply in India’s Lok Sabha, reported by Down To Earth, 2026, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/india-updates-disaster-list-to-include-heatwaves-and-lightning-after-finance-commission-push) Type: Government data, reported by the press. Where: India. Scale: More than 51,000 reporting units. Limit: A part-season count; it shows the gap, not the true toll. - Monitors at 24 indoor and outdoor workplaces in Singapore found workers could face more heat stress than nearby national weather stations reported. (NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) Type: University research release. Where: Singapore. Scale: 24 workplaces. Limit: One city; site conditions vary. #### The reactive-spending loop Stretched budgets skimp on prevention. Emergencies multiply, and costly emergency response stretches budgets further. The cycle: Public budgets strained → Heat protection underfunded → Emergency services stretched → back to the start. What breaking it saves (Developing countries): US$3–16 billion. in losses could be avoided every year by spending US$800 million on early warning systems in developing countries. (Global Commission on Adaptation, 2019, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/7713887e-5c0c-5fce-9dd0-c18a8875736c) In Southeast Asia (Bangkok, Thailand): Up to 0.7%. of Bangkok’s economy is what heat deaths cost, an estimated 593 a year in 2016–18. The upper estimate is more than the city’s whole public health budget for 2020. (Park and Rubinyi, World Bank working paper, 2026, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d8ba6f53-d778-47d2-b4a6-37dff7db2466/full) Where it plays out: Disaster budgets designed for floods and cyclones rather than heat. Where it breaks: Dedicated heat budgets, Anticipatory action Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Dedicated and traceable heat operating budgets (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_dedicated_heat_budgets); Pre-agreed heat anticipatory action and forecast finance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_forecast_based_finance); Heat action plans with a seasonal responsibility matrix (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_heat_action_plan); Recognise heat in disaster-funding rules and eligibility (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_disaster_law_fund_access) - About 593 deaths a year in Bangkok in 2016–18 were attributable to heat. Valued at 0.1–0.7% of the city’s economy, the upper estimate exceeds the city’s 2020 public health budget. (Park and Rubinyi, World Bank working paper, 2026, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/d8ba6f53-d778-47d2-b4a6-37dff7db2466/full) Type: Working paper. Where: Bangkok, Thailand. Scale: One city, 2016–2018. Limit: An estimate from a statistical model; the value depends on how a life is priced. - US$800 million spent on early warning systems in developing countries could avoid US$3–16 billion in losses every year. (Global Commission on Adaptation, 2019, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/7713887e-5c0c-5fce-9dd0-c18a8875736c) Type: Commission report. Where: Developing countries. Scale: Global estimate. Limit: A broad benefit estimate covering many hazards, not heat alone. - Direct response typically gets over half of wildfire spending, while planning and prevention get less than 1%. (UNEP and GRID-Arendal, 2022, https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires) Type: Agency report. Where: Global. Scale: Global assessment. Limit: About wildfire budgets; we use it as a pattern for heat. - Of 37 heat action plans reviewed, 11 discussed funding, and 8 of those simply asked departments to find their own money. Only two included a vulnerability assessment. (Centre for Policy Research, 2023, https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/) Type: Research institute review. Where: India. Scale: 37 heat action plans. Limit: Plans as of 2023; several have been updated since. - In August 2026 India added heatwaves to its notified natural calamities, so national and state disaster response funds can pay for heatwave relief. Before, states could spend only up to 10% of their response fund on locally declared disasters such as heat. Heat mitigation projects are funded separately, from disaster mitigation funds. (Ministry of Home Affairs, reply in India’s Lok Sabha, reported by Down To Earth, 2026, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/india-updates-disaster-list-to-include-heatwaves-and-lightning-after-finance-commission-push) Type: Government statement, reported by the press. Where: India. Scale: National. Limit: A rule change; how money flows in practice is still to be seen. #### The protection-gap loop As insurers retreat, public budgets absorb the losses, protection is cut, and the risk drives insurers further away. The cycle: Insurance losses and retreat → Public budgets strained → Heat protection underfunded → back to the start. What this cycle costs (Asia): 92%. of Asia’s US$65 billion in natural catastrophe losses in 2025 was uninsured, falling on households, businesses and governments. (Swiss Re Institute sigma, reported by Global Reinsurance, https://www.globalreinsurance.com/home/swiss-re-sigma-protection-gap-laid-bare-as-asian-cat-losses-hit-65bn/1458440.article) Where it plays out: Fast-growing Asian economies where few households or small businesses carry insurance. Where it breaks: Dedicated heat budgets, Shared risk pools Solutions to try (a suggested match, not a measured effect): Pooled pre-arranged finance for heat action (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_pooled_risk_finance); Targeted premium support and renewal finance (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_premium_support); A fallback funding layer when an index misses real harm (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_basis_risk_fallback); Recognise heat in disaster-funding rules and eligibility (https://beattheheat.asia/solutions/#nonphysical_disaster_law_fund_access) - Only about 8% of Asia’s US$65 billion in natural catastrophe losses in 2025 was insured. The rest fell on households, businesses and governments. (Swiss Re Institute sigma, reported by Global Reinsurance, https://www.globalreinsurance.com/home/swiss-re-sigma-protection-gap-laid-bare-as-asian-cat-losses-hit-65bn/1458440.article) Type: Industry research, reported by the press. Where: Asia. Scale: Region-wide, 2025. Limit: Covers all natural catastrophes, not heat alone; heat losses are rarely insured at all. - In developing markets with low insurance cover, the protection gap is driven by unaffordable premiums, limited awareness and weak distribution, and heat’s drag on growth and household incomes could shrink the customer base further. (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, 2026, https://www.gaip.global/publications/physical-risks-on-the-insurance-industry/) Type: Industry research report. Where: Asia. Scale: Region-wide review. Limit: A qualitative assessment; it does not measure the whole cycle in any one place. Our reading: We read it as the cycle on the map: repeated heat losses squeeze incomes, cover becomes harder to afford, and more of the loss falls on households and public budgets. ## Actions that break the vicious cycles of extreme heat 33 actions that cut a link in one or more vicious cycles of extreme heat: who can take each one, how soon it works, examples from Asia and practical guides. ### Deep emission cuts Every fraction of a degree avoided weakens every loop that runs through land, ice and forests at once. It also keeps more places within the limits to adaptation, where protecting people still works. Cuts the link: Extreme heat → Nature and ecosystems. Who can act: National governments, International bodies, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The dry-soil loop, The melting-ice loop, The wildfire loop In practice: Across 2.7 million firms in 23 advanced economies, places used to heat coped better with days of 30–35 °C, but none had adapted to days above 40 °C. Each degree avoided keeps more days below that line. - Guide: AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2023) https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/ - Guide: The heat is on: Heat stress, productivity and adaptation among firms (OECD Economics Department, 2024) https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en ### Clean, efficient cooling Efficient appliances, clean power and low-warming refrigerants break the link between keeping cool and heating the planet. Cuts the link: Cooling demand peaks → Emissions from cooling rise. Who can act: National governments, Utilities and energy regulators, International bodies. Could help interrupt: The global cooling loop In practice: The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (2016) commits countries to phase down the most climate-warming refrigerants. - Guide: India Cooling Action Plan (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India, 2019) https://ozonecell.nic.in/home-page/resource-informations/reports-publications/india-cooling-action-plan/ ### Keep water in the soil Mulching, agroforestry, water harvesting and restoring degraded land help soils hold moisture and stay cooler. Cuts the link: Drying soils → Extreme heat. Who can act: Farmers’ organisations and agriculture agencies, Community and civil society groups, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The dry-soil loop ### Cut black carbon Cleaner stoves, engines and brick kilns and an end to open burning cut black carbon, the soot that darkens snow and ice. Cuts the link: Glacier and snow melt → Extreme heat. Who can act: National governments, City and local governments. Could help interrupt: The melting-ice loop - Guide: Cleaner brick production: a natural-draught zig-zag kiln case study (Climate and Clean Air Coalition) https://www.ccacoalition.org/resources/cleaner-brick-production-case-study-2-production-bricks-through-natural-draft-zigzag-kiln ### Fire-smart landscapes Early detection, community fire crews and land management that reduces fuel keep fires small and forests standing. Cuts the link: Wildfires → Extreme heat. Who can act: National governments, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The wildfire loop - Guide: Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires (UNEP and GRID-Arendal, 2022) https://www.unep.org/resources/report/spreading-wildfire-rising-threat-extraordinary-landscape-fires ### Cool by design Shading, ventilation, reflective roofs and efficient cooling cut the need for air conditioning, and the waste heat it dumps outside. Cuts the link: Cooling demand peaks → Urban heat islands. Who can act: City and local governments, National governments. Could help interrupt: The cooling trap - Guide: Heat in the city: guidance and resources for urban heat (Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)) https://heathealth.info/in-the-city/ - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: heat stress mitigation built into housing, mobility, water systems and building norms (pp. 6-8) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Green, cool cities Trees, water, cool roofs and cool pavements lower city temperatures and flatten peak demand. Cuts the link: Urban heat islands → Cooling demand peaks. Who can act: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The cooling trap In practice: Cooling Singapore, a research programme across agencies, models where heat builds up street by street to test which mix of greenery, materials and layout cools each district best. Indian cities and states such as Ahmedabad and Telangana have run programmes that paint roofs to reflect sunlight. The Green Tamil Nadu Mission aims to raise the state’s forest and tree cover from 23.8% to 33% of its land by 2030–31. - Guide: Urban heat: resources and partner networks (Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance) https://zcralliance.org/resources-urban-heat/ - Guide: Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas (Kabisch, Korn, Stadler and Bonn (eds), Springer, 2017, open access) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56091-5 - Guide: Heat in the city: guidance and resources for urban heat (Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)) https://heathealth.info/in-the-city/ ### Keep city trees alive Water, healthy soil, room for roots, heat-hardy species and a running budget for upkeep keep trees alive through hotter, drier summers, so their shade lasts. Looking after existing trees comes before planting new ones. Cuts the link: Urban heat islands → City trees and parks die. Who can act: City and local governments, Water authorities, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The dying-green loop In practice: Berlin wrote a shared “good care” manual for its 12 districts, setting maintenance standards for street trees and green spaces, with drought-resistant species for replanting and a calendar of care. It followed losses such as a park where more than 500 of 870 new trees died within ten years despite watering. - Guide: Climate change increases global risk to urban forests: which city tree species are at risk (Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022) https://www.vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf ### Green without pushing people out Secure tenure, rent safeguards and designing with residents let poorer neighbourhoods gain shade and parks without losing their homes. Small, local greening that is “just green enough” protects people better than flagship projects. Cuts the link: Green space follows wealth → Greening pushes people out. Who can act: City and local governments, National governments, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The green-displacement loop In practice: In Bangkok, the Baan Mankong programme of the Community Organizations Development Institute gives canal-side communities subsidies and cheap loans to secure land and rebuild their homes. Along Khlong Lat Phrao, where flood works needed the canal banks, communities planned their own moves and rebuilding instead of being evicted. - Guide: Urban green space, public health and environmental justice: the challenge of making cities “just green enough” (Wolch, Byrne and Newell, Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017 - Guide: Greening without gentrification: anti-displacement strategies for parks (Urban Waters Learning Network) https://urbanwaterslearningnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Parks-Related-Anti-Displacement-Strategies-report-with-appendix.pdf ### Power that doesn’t need water Solar and wind use very little water, and dry cooling protects thermal plants when rivers run low or warm. Cuts the link: Water shortages → Power plants cut output. Who can act: Utilities and energy regulators, National governments. Could help interrupt: The energy–water loop ### Backup power for water Solar pumps and backup supply keep water flowing when the grid fails. Cuts the link: Power cuts and grid stress → Water shortages. Who can act: Water authorities, Utilities and energy regulators. Could help interrupt: The energy–water loop - Guide: Climate-resilient water safety plans: managing health risks associated with climate variability and change (World Health Organization, 2017) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241512794 ### Smart irrigation and groundwater rules Drip irrigation, metering, aquifer recharge and fair pumping rules keep wells from running dry. Cuts the link: Irrigation demand soars → Groundwater over-pumped. Who can act: Farmers’ organisations and agriculture agencies, Water authorities. Could help interrupt: The groundwater loop - Guide: Atal Bhujal Yojana: India’s scheme for community-led groundwater management (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)) https://www.ceew.in/publications/atal-bhujal-yojana-scheme-for-sustainable-participatory-groundwater-resources-management ### Crop insurance and fair credit Crop insurance that pays out after a heat-hit season, affordable credit and heat-tolerant seed stop one bad harvest becoming a debt trap. Cuts the link: Failing harvests → Farmers fall into debt. Who can act: Banks, insurers and financial regulators, Farmers’ organisations and agriculture agencies, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The farm-debt loop - Guide: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, India’s national crop insurance scheme (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, India) https://pmfby.gov.in/ ### Heat action plans Early warnings, public cooling spaces and outreach to the people most at risk prevent illness before it reaches hospital. Cuts the link: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Health systems overwhelmed. Who can act: City and local governments, Health authorities, Weather and climate services. Could help interrupt: The overwhelmed-clinic loop In practice: Ahmedabad launched South Asia’s first city heat action plan in 2013; by June 2026, India had more than 250. In Nepal, Dhangadhi, which passes 40 °C every year, published a heat action plan in 2025 with the Nepal Red Cross Society. In Bangladesh, Practical Action is working with communities and local authorities in Khulna to build a heat early warning system that responds to them, where none existed before. - Guide: Extreme Heat Risk Governance Framework and Toolkit: a self-assessment of how ready institutions are, and how to plan, act and learn (GHHIN, UNDRR and WMO, 2025 (first edition)) https://heathealth.info/resources/heat-gov-framework/ - Guide: Heat action plans and case studies, including Indian cities (Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN)) https://heathealth.info/heat-action-plans-and-case-studies/ - Guide: Heat Action Planning Guide for Neighborhoods of Greater Phoenix: planning heat action with residents (The Nature Conservancy and partners, 2019) https://globalfutures.asu.edu/sustainable-cities/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2023/09/Phoenix-Arizona-Heat-Action-Plan.pdf - Guide: Heatwaves and health: guidance on warning-system development (WHO and WMO, 2015, in the GHHIN resource library) https://heathealth.info/resources/heatwaves-and-health-guidance-on-warning-system-development/ - Guide: How Extreme Heat is Impacting India: district-level heat risk for all 734 districts, to target plans (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2025) https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-how-extreme-heat-is-impacting-india-final-web-file.pdf - Guide: How can heat action plans make Thane a heat-resilient city? (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)) https://www.ceew.in/publications/how-can-thane-city-tackle-heatwaves-risks-with-heat-action-plan - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: a yearly city intervention plan, and a long-term heat resilience perspective that extends a city's heat action plan (pp. 1, 3-4, 10) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Heat-ready health services Cooling, backup power, surge plans and trained frontline workers keep clinics working through heatwaves. Cuts the link: Health systems overwhelmed → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Who can act: Health authorities, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The overwhelmed-clinic loop In practice: On Assam’s Brahmaputra river islands, boat clinics run by C-NES with the National Health Mission switched from diesel to solar power, so lights, fans and vaccine fridges keep working and emergencies can be seen after dark. Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy proposes a simple step for mothers: screen for heat risk in the check-ups of the state’s pregnancy scheme, which has run in various forms since 1987. - Guide: National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illness (National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, 2021) https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/uploads/pdf/heat12.pdf - Guide: Climate change and health: heat-illness guidelines, emergency cooling guidance and heat stroke units (National Centre for Disease Control, India) https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/includes/About/CentresAndDivision/CEOH.php - Guide: India in a Warming World: Strengthening Heat-Health Action (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), for the GHHIN South Asia hub, 2026) https://www.ceew.in/publications/india-heat-health-action ### Heat-safe work Rest, shade and water during dangerous heat, with paid breaks so that stopping work doesn’t mean losing pay. Cuts the link: Informal workers can’t stop work → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Who can act: National governments, Employers and businesses, Worker organisations and unions. Could help interrupt: The poverty–heat trap, The medical-debt trap In practice: Singapore requires hourly wet-bulb globe temperature checks on outdoor worksites and at least 10 minutes’ shaded rest each hour for heavy work at 32 °C or above; in 2024 it inspected 250 workplaces and acted against 78. Several Gulf states ban outdoor work during the hottest midday hours in summer. Since 2023, Spain has required employers to cut or move working hours when the weather agency issues an orange or red heat alert and other measures can’t keep workers safe. Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy proposes building heat protection into the state’s existing occupational safety rules, rather than waiting for a new law. - Guide: Heat at work: the first joint global guidance on workplace heat stress (WHO and WMO, in the GHHIN resource library) https://heathealth.info/at-work/ - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: occupational heat protection for informal workers indoors and out, and who carries duties where there is no single employer (pp. 4, 8) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Income protection in heatwaves Cash that pays out automatically when temperatures cross a danger threshold, so people can afford to stop. Triggers need careful design to limit basis risk: heat that hurts people without triggering a payout. Cuts the link: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Lost work hours and wages. Who can act: Banks, insurers and financial regulators, National governments, Worker organisations and unions. Could help interrupt: The poverty–heat trap, The displacement loop In practice: Parametric heat insurance has been piloted with women informal workers in India. - Guide: Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia: regulation, design, basis risk and why pilots stall (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, 2026) https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/ - Guide: Parametric heat and rainfall insurance for informal women workers (VimoSEWA, 2025) https://www.sewainsurance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Parametric-Heat-and-Rainfall-Insurance-for-Informal-Women-Workers.pdf - Guide: Confronting the climate and health nexus: lessons from the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) (CGAP) https://www.cgap.org/research/publication/confronting-climate-and-health-nexus-lessons-self-employed-womens-association ### Social protection floors Basic income security that keeps households above the line between one hot season and the next. Cuts the link: Lost work hours and wages → Informal workers can’t stop work. Who can act: National governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The poverty–heat trap - Guide: Addressing the impacts of extreme heat through social protection (International Labour Organization) https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/addressing-impacts-extreme-heat-through-social-protection ### Free care for heat illness Covering emergency treatment for heat illness stops one bad day from becoming years of debt. Cuts the link: Heatstroke and heat exhaustion → Medical costs and debt. Who can act: Health authorities, National governments. Could help interrupt: The medical-debt trap, The energy-poverty trap - Guide: Climate change and health: heat-illness guidelines, emergency cooling guidance and heat stroke units (National Centre for Disease Control, India) https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/includes/About/CentresAndDivision/CEOH.php - Guide: National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illness (National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, 2021) https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/uploads/pdf/heat12.pdf ### Affordable cooling for the poorest Lifeline electricity tariffs, efficient fans and cool roofs put safe cooling within reach of every household. Cuts the link: Can’t afford to keep cool → Heatstroke and heat exhaustion. Who can act: Utilities and energy regulators, City and local governments, National governments. Could help interrupt: The energy-poverty trap - Guide: Chilling Prospects: Global Access to Cooling Gaps 2023 (Sustainable Energy for All, 2023) https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023 - Guide: Chilling Prospects Special: Gender and Access to Cooling (Sustainable Energy for All) https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-special-gender - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: cooling access treated as a public service and a question of energy justice, including for tenants and informal settlements (pp. 8-9) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Cool, affordable housing Upgrading informal settlements with ventilation, shade and cool roofs, and planning homes for people who arrive. Cuts the link: Forced migration → Homes that trap heat. Who can act: City and local governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The displacement loop In practice: Telangana’s Cool Roof Policy 2023–2028, India’s first, makes cool roofs mandatory for many kinds of building and aims to cover about 300 km² of roofs. Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy proposes making a measure of how much heat walls and roofs let in, the residential envelope transmittance value (ReTV) from India’s residential energy code, a condition in tenders for redeveloping informal settlements. - Guide: Telangana’s cool roof policy: from pilot demonstration to policy (The Climate Group) https://www.theclimategroup.org/our-work/publications/telanganas-cool-roof-policy-pilot-demonstration-policy-implementation - Guide: £17.5m for research testing heat adaptations, including a trial of reflective roof coatings with a site in India (Wellcome) https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/wellcome-awards-ps175m-support-global-research-drive ### Keep children in school Cash transfers, school meals and heat-ready classrooms and timetables keep children learning through hot seasons. Cuts the link: Deepening inequality → Children pulled out of school. Who can act: Schools and education authorities, National governments. Could help interrupt: The lost-schooling loop In practice: When heat closes schools, children lose more than lessons: consultations for Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy found that long breaks cost children in schools serving marginalised groups their midday meals. India’s school meal scheme can keep serving meals through the summer holidays in areas declared drought-hit, as Odisha did in 27 districts in a year when a forecast heatwave also extended school closures. In the Philippines, heat helped drive the return to a June school start, keeping classes out of the hottest months, April and May. - Guide: Learning Interrupted: global snapshot of climate-related school disruptions (UNICEF, 2026) https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted ### Cool nights and support Cooling centres open at night, shaded and ventilated homes, and mental-health support during the hot season. Cuts the link: Sleepless hot nights → Mental health suffers. Who can act: City and local governments, Health authorities, Community and civil society groups. Could help interrupt: The sleepless-nights loop - Guide: How summer heat affects health, and how to keep cool, including cooling homes at night (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2025) https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/23-06-2025-how-summer-heat-impacts-health-and-how-to--keepcool - Guide: Climate and mental health: uncovering how heat affects anxiety, depression and psychosis (Wellcome) https://wellcome.org/research-funding/schemes/climate-and-mental-health-award-uncovering-mechanisms-between-heat-and ### Count every heat death Real-time tracking of excess deaths during heatwaves, and death certificates that record heat, make the toll visible. Cuts the link: Heat deaths → Heat deaths under-recorded. Who can act: Health authorities, Weather and climate services, National governments. Could help interrupt: The invisible-deaths loop - Guide: Autopsy findings in heat-related deaths: guidance for recording heat as a cause (National Centre for Disease Control, India, in the GHHIN resource library) https://heathealth.info/resources/autopsy-findings-in-heat-related-deaths/ - Guide: National Action Plan on Heat-Related Illness (National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, 2021) https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/uploads/pdf/heat12.pdf - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: heat-health surveillance and records of heat illness and deaths, disaggregated by social group and neighbourhood (pp. 9-10) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Cooling centres and check-ins Public cooling spaces, water points and check-ins on older people living alone save lives in every heatwave. Cuts the link: Heat protection underfunded → Heat deaths. Who can act: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Health authorities. Could help interrupt: The invisible-deaths loop - Guide: The use of cooling centers to prevent heat-related illness: evidence and strategies for implementation (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the GHHIN resource library) https://heathealth.info/wp-content/uploads/cdc_47657_DS1-compressed-1.pdf - Guide: Heat Resilient Cities Framework: shade, drinking water, alerts, cool surfaces and basic public cooling first, as low-cost protection that reaches many people quickly (p. 6) (National Institute of Urban Affairs, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube), 2026) https://niua.in/publication-details/Heat_Resilient_Cities_Framework ### Dedicated heat budgets Ring-fenced funding for heat action, set aside before the season, so protection doesn’t compete with the emergency. Cuts the link: Public budgets strained → Heat protection underfunded. Who can act: National governments, City and local governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The reactive-spending loop, The protection-gap loop In practice: Since August 2026, India’s disaster response funds can pay for heatwave relief; preparing for heat is still paid for separately. In Nepal, Madhesh Province and five municipalities committed 5% of sectoral budgets to adaptation and disaster risk reduction, with support from Practical Action and Mercy Corps. - Guide: Finding the Finance: a guide to identifying centrally sponsored schemes to fund heat resilience (Centre for Policy Research, India) https://cprindia.org/workingpapers/finding-the-finance-a-guide-to-identifying-centrally-sponsored-schemes-to-fund-heat-resilience-solutions/ - Guide: How is India adapting to heatwaves? An assessment of 37 heat action plans (Centre for Policy Research, India, 2023) https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/ ### Anticipatory action Release money and act on the forecast, before the heatwave peaks, instead of paying for the emergency afterwards. Cuts the link: Heat protection underfunded → Emergency services stretched. Who can act: Weather and climate services, Development banks, donors and climate funds, National governments. Could help interrupt: The reactive-spending loop In practice: On 21 April 2024, with forecasts above 38 °C, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society activated its heatwave early action protocol for Dhaka: warnings, drinking water, cooling stations and cash grants, with about CHF 500,000 from the IFRC to reach some 124,000 people. WHO and WMO estimate that bringing heat-health warning systems to the countries that lack them could prevent nearly 100,000 deaths a year. - Guide: Understanding the global landscape of heat early warning systems (with case studies from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam) (IFRC, Practical Action and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, for the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance, 2026) https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/understanding-global-landscape-heat-early-warning-systems - Guide: Early warning systems: resources (Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance) https://zcralliance.org/resources-ews/ - Guide: Thriving in a Warming World: climate intelligence for extreme heat (Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2026) https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-thriving-warming-world-climate-intelligence-extreme-heat.pdf ### Heat-smart lending Lenders and regulators keep credit flowing through a heatwave: repayment holidays triggered by heat alerts, credit lines kept open, and loans for shade, cooling and cold storage, so a hot season does not become a debt spiral. Cuts the link: Loan repayments slip → Borrowing costs rise. Who can act: Banks, insurers and financial regulators, National governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The heat credit squeeze In practice: India’s banks can already reschedule loans and pause repayments in areas hit by notified natural calamities, under a 2018 Reserve Bank of India direction. India added heatwaves to its notified calamities in 2026; whether that relief now reaches heat-hit borrowers is worth asking your bank. Southeast Asia has the same machinery for floods and storms. In the Philippines, banks in areas under a state of calamity can give borrowers up to six months’ grace with no penalties. Indonesia’s regulator let banks restructure Rp12.58 trillion of loans for 237,083 borrowers after the 2025 Sumatra floods, and Vietnam let lenders reschedule debts hit by Typhoon Yagi until 2027. None of these rules yet names heat as a trigger. - Guide: Master Direction: Relief measures by banks in areas affected by natural calamities (Reserve Bank of India, 2018) https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=10478 - Guide: Seasonal flexible microcredit in Bangladesh: repayment adjusted to the lean season did not raise default (Shonchoy and others, IDE-JETRO) https://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Reports/Dp/460.html - Guide: Policy library: environmental, social and climate risk rules for banks, country by country (Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (regulators and banking associations from emerging markets)) https://www.sbfnetwork.org/ - Guide: Inclusive finance and extreme heat: how small loans and parametric insurance can help people through deadly heatwaves (Center for Financial Inclusion, 2023) https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/inclusive-finance-and-extreme-heat-how-small-loans-and-parametric-insurance-can-help-vulnerable-populations-manage-through-deadly-heat-waves ### Shared risk pools Public–private insurance and regional risk pools keep cover available and spread losses beyond any one budget. Cuts the link: Insurance losses and retreat → Public budgets strained. Who can act: Banks, insurers and financial regulators, National governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Could help interrupt: The protection-gap loop In practice: Regional risk pools such as the African Risk Capacity and the Caribbean’s CCRIF share disaster risk across countries. - Guide: Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia: regulation, design, basis risk and why pilots stall (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, 2026) https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/ - Guide: Global Shield against Climate Risks in Pakistan: pre-arranged finance for climate shocks (UNDP) https://www.undp.org/pakistan/projects/global-shield-against-climate-risks ### Heat-safe pregnancy and newborn care Heat advice and checks in antenatal care, lighter work and rest for pregnant workers, cool labour wards and newborn units, and visits to new mothers in a heatwave. Cuts the link: Risks in pregnancy → Babies and young children at risk. Who can act: Health authorities, Employers and businesses, Community and civil society groups. In practice: Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy proposes screening for heat risk in the check-ups of the state’s pregnancy scheme. - Guide: Protecting maternal, newborn and child health from the impacts of climate change: a call for action (WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA, 2023) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240085350 ### Mental health in heat plans Heat plans that include mental health: support that reaches farm households after crop losses, services that stay open through heatwaves, and warnings that reach people in mental health care. Cuts the link: Mental health suffers → Suicides rise. Who can act: Health authorities, National governments, Community and civil society groups. - Guide: Mental health and climate change: policy brief (World Health Organization, 2022) https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240045125 ### Violence prevention in heat planning Helplines, shelters and women’s groups included in heat plans and kept open in heatwaves, income support in hot seasons, and health workers trained to recognise violence on their visits. Cuts the link: Lost work hours and wages → Violence against women rises. Who can act: Community and civil society groups, National governments, Health authorities. ### Safe water and rehydration for young children Safe drinking water, handwashing and oral rehydration salts in place before the hot months, carried to families by clinics and community health workers. Cuts the link: Sanitation and hygiene fail → Diarrhoea in young children. Who can act: Water authorities, Health authorities, Community and civil society groups. ## Who extreme heat hits hardest The same heatwave lands differently. Who is harmed depends on how exposed people are and what stands between them and safety. - Who receives the warning Alerts by app, radio or loudspeaker miss people without phones, signal, literacy or the right language. - Who can move to safety Age, disability, care duties and distance decide who can reach shade, water or a cooling centre. - Who can keep earning Without land, credit, contracts or savings, resting in the heat means losing the day’s income. - Who has a say Women, migrants and people from excluded communities are often missing from the rooms where heat plans are made. - Who can reach care in time A clinic that is far away, has no way to cool patients, or is open only while people are at work turns treatable heat illness into a death. ### Smallholder and rainfed farming households Exposed to: Work in open fields through the hottest hours, with crops and animals that depend on rain heat makes less reliable. Held back by: Little irrigation, credit, insurance or savings, so one bad season can mean debt, sold animals and lost seed. At the International Rice Research Institute’s farm in the Philippines, rice yields fell by about 10% for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature. (Peng et al., PNAS, 2004, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101) In India, crop-damaging heat in the growing season is linked to more suicides; warming over 30 years is estimated to account for 59,300. (Carleton, PNAS, 2017: crop-damaging temperatures increase suicide rates in India, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28760983/) What helps: Crop insurance and fair credit, Keep water in the soil, Smart irrigation and groundwater rules, Social protection floors, Mental health in heat plans ### Coastal and riverine communities Exposed to: Humid heat that stops sweat from cooling the body, warming seas that drive fish away, and warm, low water that spoils drinking supplies. Held back by: Livelihoods tied to one place and one resource, homes on fragile land with insecure tenure, and islands and river banks far from services. Humidity makes heat far more costly: across 2.7 million firms, ten extra days above 35 °C cut productivity by 0.75% in very humid places, more than double the average, and barely at all in dry ones. (OECD Economics Department, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en) In Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, a long heatwave in February 2024 lowered canals and let sea water push inland; farmers who pumped the salty water onto their rice lost up to half their crop. (Viet Nam News, 2024, https://vietnamnews.vn/environment/1656592/mekong-delta-faces-severe-drought-salinity-concerns.html) What helps: Heat action plans, Social protection floors, Anticipatory action, Heat-ready health services ### People in remote or poorly served settlements Exposed to: Far from clinics, cool shelter, reliable power and phone signal, often at the end of the line for water and electricity. Held back by: Warnings, ambulances and relief arrive late or not at all, and deaths here are the least likely to be counted. What helps: Anticipatory action, Heat-ready health services, Count every heat death, Heat action plans ### People in informal settlements Exposed to: Dense rows of homes with tin, asbestos or plastic roofs, little green space, and no way to cool down at night. Held back by: Insecure tenure means families can’t invest in cooler homes and landlords won’t, and settlements are often missing from city plans and services. In a survey of 860 households in Ahmedabad, people in informal settlements faced temperatures up to 7.6 °C higher than people in formal housing. (Mahadevia et al., 2020, reported in Frontiers in Built Environment, 2022, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2022.874751/full) In Jakarta, dense low-income neighbourhoods act as heat islands; informal workers rarely have fans or air conditioning and cool off on terraces or in parks, while green space is concentrated in wealthier areas. (Ufaira and others, Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 2023, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1237515/full) What helps: Cool, affordable housing, Cool nights and support, Cooling centres and check-ins, Affordable cooling for the poorest ### Workers in heat-exposed jobs Exposed to: Street vendors, builders, salt-pan workers, waste pickers, rickshaw and delivery workers, traffic police and sanitation staff in the hottest parts of the city; factory workers beside furnaces in unventilated sheds; then hot, crowded homes at night. Held back by: No paid leave, contract or savings: stopping work in dangerous heat means losing the day’s income. Fixed shifts leave little room to avoid the hottest hours. Doctors at two Indian hospitals with heatstroke units said more than 90% of the patients they treated for heat illness in 2024 were outdoor workers: security guards, migrant labourers and street vendors. (Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation), 2024, https://www.context.news/climate-risks/ice-baths-and-ventilators-indias-hospitals-adapt-to-killer-heat) In a survey of 721 Delhi street vendors in 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) In Singapore, a study of 355 workers found each hot day cost a median S$21 in lost income, about 24% of a day’s median pay, and heat at workplaces was often higher than nearby weather stations showed. (NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) In Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Karachi, garment hubs where factories trap heat, days with wet-bulb temperatures above 30.5 °C rose by 42% in 2020–24 compared with 2005–09. (Cornell Global Labor Institute and Schroders, Higher Ground?, https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/global-labor-institute/higher-ground-fashions-climate-breakdown) In Tamil Nadu, 68% of people face 8–9 hours a day of strong heat stress from March to June, measured by an index that counts humidity, wind and sun as well as temperature. (Tamil Nadu Heat Mitigation Strategy, 2024, https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf) What helps: Heat-safe work, Income protection in heatwaves, Social protection floors, Free care for heat illness ### Women whose livelihoods are held back by unequal access Exposed to: Field, home-based and informal work, fetching water, and cooking in homes that trap heat. Held back by: Less say over land, credit, technology and household decisions, and most of the unpaid care that grows in a heatwave. Without toilets at work or on transport, many drink less water. Violence at home rises with the heat. Rural households headed by women lose about 8% more of their income to heat stress than those headed by men. (FAO, The Unjust Climate, 2024, https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-report--heatwaves-and-floods-affect-rural-women-and-men-differently--widen-income-gap) In a study of Indian women workers, 87% of those with poor or no toilets at work reported genitourinary problems, and about 1 in 10 showed heat strain and moderate dehydration. (Venugopal et al., Global Health Action, 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5025522/) In Nepal’s Madhesh Province, women cooking in hot, smoky kitchens carry a daily ‘thermal labour’ that falls hardest on women in the poorest single-room homes with little access to clean energy or credit. (Ghimire and others, Frontiers in Public Health, 2025, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1657267/full) What helps: Income protection in heatwaves, Social protection floors, Heat action plans, Cool, affordable housing, Violence prevention in heat planning ### Pregnant women, babies and young children Exposed to: Pregnancy strains the body’s cooling, and babies overheat and dehydrate faster than adults. Held back by: Many women keep working and fetching water late into pregnancy, and maternity and child services are rarely ready for heat. Each 1 °C rise raises the odds of preterm birth by about 5%, and a heatwave by about 16%. (Chersich et al., BMJ, 2020, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33148618/) In 2014–2023, each infant in India faced an average of 7.7 heatwave days a year, 47% more than in the 1990s. (Lancet Countdown, India data sheet, 2024, https://lancetcountdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lancet-Countdown-2024_INDIA.pdf) In Tamil Nadu, among 800 pregnant women doing moderate to heavy physical work, those with high workplace heat had about twice the risk of miscarriage. (Rekha et al., BJOG, 2023: occupational heat and pregnancy outcomes in 800 women workers, Tamil Nadu, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37814395/) Across 26 studies, each 1 °C rise in temperature was linked to about 7% more diarrhoea, a leading cause of death in young children. (Carlton et al., International Journal of Epidemiology, 2016: temperature and diarrhoeal disease, 26 studies, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26567313/) What helps: Heat-ready health services, Heat action plans, Free care for heat illness, Social protection floors, Heat-safe pregnancy and newborn care, Safe water and rehydration for young children ### Older people Exposed to: Bodies that sense and shed heat less well, often with heart, kidney or lung conditions. Held back by: Living alone, limited mobility, and warnings and help that rely on phones, apps or someone knocking on the door. Older people in a Kolkata informal settlement were 4.3 times more likely than older people in a nearby village to face dangerous heat, with a heat index of 45 °C or more, because their homes stayed hotter than the outdoors, especially at night. (Weitz, Mukhopadhyay and Das, International Journal of Biometeorology, 2022, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35359160/) What helps: Cooling centres and check-ins, Heat action plans, Affordable cooling for the poorest, Count every heat death ### People with disabilities or long-term illness Exposed to: Some conditions and common medicines, such as diuretics, interfere with the body’s cooling. Heart, kidney and lung disease and diabetes raise the danger, and heat worsens many mental health conditions. Held back by: Warnings in formats they can’t use, cooling centres they can’t reach, and heat plans that rarely name their needs. Heat can worsen underlying illness, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma and mental health conditions. (WHO, 2026: Heat and health, fact sheet, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-heat-and-health) What helps: Heat action plans, Cooling centres and check-ins, Heat-ready health services, Free care for heat illness, Mental health in heat plans ### Migrants, prisoners and other excluded groups Exposed to: Hot, crowded rented rooms, cells and the hardest outdoor jobs, often in a place where they have few connections. Held back by: No local ID, address or language can mean no warnings, clinics, rations or relief. Many migrant workers are not registered under welfare laws, such as construction workers’ boards, so they miss health and safety benefits meant for them. Who is registered, and who is known to local officials, can decide who is reached first. Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy names prisoners, held in concrete buildings with little green space, among the groups heat plans are meant to reach, and proposes cool roofs and trees for its jails. (Tamil Nadu Heat Mitigation Strategy, 2024, https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf) What helps: Cool, affordable housing, Social protection floors, Free care for heat illness, Heat-safe work ### Weather, work and the person The same reading on a thermometer can be safe for one person and dangerous for another. How much heat the body has to carry depends on three things together: the weather, the work, and the person. Change any one and the danger changes. #### The weather Air temperature is only the start. Humidity stops sweat from cooling the body, sun and hot surfaces add radiant heat, still air removes less of it, and a hot night leaves no time to recover. Conditions at a workplace or under a roof can be worse than the nearest weather station shows. - Monitors at 24 indoor and outdoor workplaces in Singapore found workers could face more heat stress than nearby national weather stations reported. (NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) - Ten extra days above 35 °C cut firms’ productivity by 0.75% in very humid places, more than double the average. (OECD Economics Department, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1787/19d94638-en) #### The work Heavy work makes heat inside the body. Protective clothing, gowns and masks hold it in. Long shifts, fixed hours and no shade or water break let it build. The same weather is a different risk for a desk worker, a builder and a nurse in protective gear. - In a laboratory trial of 18 men doing treadmill work and virtual-reality welding and plank-walking at height, humid heat raised core temperature and unsteadied balance, though task speed and accuracy held up. (Tan et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2025, https://heathealth.info/resources/physical-work-in-humid-heat-impairs-postural-balance-during-simulated-construction-tasks-at-height/) - Across 3,082 health workers in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, poor practices with protective equipment were linked to heat-related symptoms. (Yang et al., BMC Nursing, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01770-x) #### The person Older bodies sweat less and feel thirst later. Heart, kidney and lung disease, diabetes and pregnancy add strain, and some medicines reduce the body’s ability to lose heat. A body that did not cool down overnight starts the next day already behind. - Thinking held up at modest heat strain: 28 adults whose core temperature reached about 38.5 °C showed no loss of executive function or risk-taking. At 39.5 °C, in a separate study of 11 adults, executive function did fall. (Modest strain study of 28 adults, PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12804366/; Tan et al., Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.09.001) - Hot nights shorten sleep, with bigger losses for older people and in lower-income countries, across 47,628 people in 68 countries. (Minor et al., One Earth, 2022, https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/rising-temperatures-erode-human-sleep-globally) Effects depend on exposure, task and the person. That is why a single heat alert cannot protect everyone in the same way, and why plans can ask who is doing what, in what, and after what kind of night. #### Three groups heat plans often miss - People on long-term medicines: Some medicines used for long-term conditions, including some for blood pressure, heart disease, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, blood thinners and some cancer drugs, can reduce sweating or the blood flow to the skin that carries heat away. Ageing and illness can add to the effect. Never stop or change a medicine because of the heat. Ask a doctor, nurse or pharmacist what to watch for, and plan water, shade and check-in calls for people on these medicines. (Wee and Lee, Pharmacological Reviews (summary by NUS Medicine, 2023), https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/news/medications-for-chronic-diseases-affect-the-bodys-ability-to-regulate-body-temperature-keep-cool) - Health workers in protective gear: Clinics and wards fill up in a heatwave, and staff in gowns, gloves and masks carry heat they cannot shed. A survey of 3,082 health workers across six Asian places linked poor practices with protective equipment to heat-related symptoms. Its symptom scale proved unreliable, so the authors still advise staff to check their own symptoms early. Plan cool rest rooms, water, shorter rotations in full protective gear, and cooling for the clinic itself, so the people treating heat illness are not its next patients. (Yang et al., BMC Nursing, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01770-x) - Workers in hot factories and sheds: Heat is not only an outdoor problem. In a survey of 753 women at three garment factories in Phnom Penh, the share reporting heat symptoms rose from 68% in the cooler months to 88% in the hot months, as the factory heat index rose from about 25 °C to 29 °C. More said heat slowed their work and cut their motivation. These are workers’ own reports, not measured output. Plans can count indoor workplaces: measure heat where people work, cool the roof and walls, add air flow, water and breaks. (Chea et al., BMC Public Health, 2025, https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-22787-0) For heat plans: Ask three questions for every group in a heat plan: how hot is it where they are, what are they doing and wearing, and what do they bring to it, such as age, illness, medicines and a night without sleep. ## Cooling options by place, and what keeps them working What to build or change where people are: homes, outdoor work, schools, markets, waiting areas, heat with waterlogging and greening where water is short. With what keeps each option working, rough costs and the traps to avoid. Costs are rough planning ranges for early budgeting, not quotes. They are Indian prices, from a practitioner’s planning workbook, shown in US dollars at about ₹95 to US$1 (mid-2026) with the rupee range alongside. India has some of the lowest building prices in Asia, so expect most Southeast Asian cities to pay more: see the regional prices below. Where a public figure exists, it is linked. Where no range is solid enough to share, the card says so: get local quotes. #### Kitchen heat Cooking adds heat on top of the weather, often in the smallest, least ventilated room, and usually for women. In Nepal’s Madhesh Province, women cooking in hot, smoky kitchens carry a daily ‘thermal labour’ that falls hardest on women in the poorest single-room homes with little access to clean energy or credit. (Ghimire and others, Frontiers in Public Health, 2025, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1657267/full) - How much heat does the stove give off, and does anyone sit beside it for long? - Can hot air and smoke get out: a window, a vent, a gap under the roof? - Is there smoke from wood, dung or kerosene adding to the strain? - How long is cooking each day, and can some of it move to cooler hours? - Can the household afford cleaner fuel through the season, not only once? - Is the electricity reliable enough for a fan or an electric cooker when it is hottest? ### Homes Protects: Sleep, care work, and the older people, young children and sick people who spend the hottest hours indoors. Key caution: Check the roof type, fire safety, tenure and ventilation before any retrofit. - Reflective roof coating: A white, solar-reflective coat on the roof, so less of the sun’s heat passes into the room below. Keeps working with: Repainting every few years, and a thermometer to check it works. Avoid: Promising a fixed number of degrees before you have measured. Rough cost: about US$2.6–US$3.7 per m² (₹250–₹350 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence); Telangana Cool Roof Policy coverage, 2023: about ₹300 per m² - Lime whitewash: A cheap seasonal white coat that households can apply themselves when a commercial coating is out of reach. Keeps working with: Recoating every season, by a named group. Avoid: Treating it as a lasting retrofit. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Better roof panels: Replace or cover thin tin or asbestos sheets with an insulated roof panel. Keeps working with: A structural check, and secure enough tenure to make the investment safe. Avoid: Scaling up before checking structure and tenure. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Insulation under the roof: A fire-safe layer or false ceiling that slows heat coming through the roof. Keeps working with: A fire-safety review of the material. Avoid: Flammable sheets near kitchens or wiring. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Shade on walls and windows: Bamboo blinds, jute screens or awnings on the sunny side stop sunlight before it reaches the room. Keeps working with: Fixing and replacing screens each season. Avoid: Blocking airflow or all daylight. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Let the air through: Higher vents and openings that let hot air out at night. Keeps working with: Security, rain protection and mosquito screens. Avoid: Openings that let in dust, rain or intruders. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. In 16 homes in an Ahmedabad informal settlement, measured in September 2017, rooms under a modular roof averaged about 33.8 °C against 36.8 °C under asbestos sheets. White paint on tin did not beat asbestos or concrete in the same comparison: measure before you promise. (Vellingiri et al., Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2020, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7227734) In a two-year trial in Burkina Faso, cool roofs lowered indoor temperatures by 1.2 °C in tin-and-mud homes and 1.7 °C in tin-roofed homes, and residents’ heart rates fell. The same team began a year-long trial in about 400 Ahmedabad homes in 2025. (Reuters, via South China Morning Post, 2025, https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3301810/indian-slums-get-cool-roofs-beat-summer-heat) ### Outdoor work Protects: People whose income depends on being outdoors in the hottest hours: vendors, loaders, builders, sanitation workers, traffic police. Key caution: A shelter without water, paid rest or a change of hours is not worker protection. - Rest shelters on work routes: Shade, seating and water where workers can recover during a shift. Keeps working with: Paid rest time, and someone who cleans and refills it. Avoid: Treating the shelter as a substitute for work rules. Rough cost: about US$1,600–US$5,300 per site (₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Drinking water and rehydration salts: Refill points with safe water and oral rehydration salts at markets, sites and junctions. Keeps working with: A daily refill and cleaning roster, often ₹500–2,000 a day. Avoid: Counting it as cooling: it protects bodies, not temperatures. Rough cost: about US$110–US$530 per site (₹10,000–₹50,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Shade nets: Quick shade over junctions, queues and work yards. Keeps working with: Poles set firmly into the ground, and nets up before the heat starts. Avoid: Bamboo frames that fall in the first storm. Rough cost: about US$3.2–US$9.5 per m² (₹300–₹900 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Shade trees on work routes: Canopy along the streets where people work and wait. Keeps working with: Water, root space and three years of care. Avoid: Counting saplings planted instead of canopy that survives. Rough cost: about US$21–US$84 per tree, with 2–3 years’ care (₹2,000–₹8,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Misting at hotspots: Fine water spray at a few crowded, dry spots. Keeps working with: Safe water, drainage, filters and a technician. Avoid: Humid places and water-short cities: in humid heat the benefit roughly halves. Rough cost: about US$420–US$2,100 per site (₹40,000–₹2,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) Nagpur strung green shade nets over 10–12 busy junctions in May 2026. Several tore or collapsed in strong winds, and residents pointed out the heat had begun at the end of March. A net had also fallen at Tukdoji Square in 2025 because its bamboo was not set firmly into the road. (The Hitavada, 11 May 2026, https://www.thehitavada.com//Encyc/2026/5/11/green-nets-at-city-squares-relief-measure-or-another-half-planned-half-planned-civic-experiment.html) Comparing Phoenix with humid Houston, misters still cut heat stress in the humid city, but with about half the benefit, and only when there was some wind. (US National Science Foundation public access repository, https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10642926) ### Schools and childcare Protects: Learning, play, attendance and drinking water for children and the staff who look after them. Key caution: Count shade and surviving trees, not saplings planted. - Cool classroom roofs: A reflective coat or a ventilated second roof over the hottest classrooms. Keeps working with: A line in the school’s maintenance budget. Avoid: Roof canopies that are not anchored for monsoon winds. Rough cost: about US$2.6–US$3.7 per m² for a coating (₹250–₹350 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Shaded play space: Trees, shade structures and less hard paving where children play. Keeps working with: Watering through the holidays, when nobody is at school. Avoid: Planting that dies in the first summer break. Rough cost: about US$2,100–US$42,000 per school, from basic greening to a full package (₹2,00,000–₹40,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Shade on classroom windows: Screens or awnings on the sunny side of classrooms. Keeps working with: Fixing them back after each monsoon. Avoid: Making rooms so dark that lights and fans run all day. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Drinking water at school: Enough safe, cool water for every child, with time in the timetable to drink it. Keeps working with: Filter changes and cleaning. Avoid: One tap for hundreds of children. Rough cost: about US$110–US$530 per point (₹10,000–₹50,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) Researchers who studied how age groups use green spaces found that older people asked for benches, shelter during extreme weather and safe paths, while children wanted trees for shade and places to play. Ask both before you design. (Frantzeskaki et al., chapter 11 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) ### Markets and street vending Protects: Vendors’ income and stock, customers, and the porters who load and unload in the heat. Key caution: Design it with the vendors and protect their place, or the upgrade becomes an eviction. - Shade over stalls and aisles: Nets, fabric or a light frame with climbing plants over the places vendors sit. Keeps working with: Storm-proof fixing and someone to replace worn cloth. Avoid: Shade that blocks fire access or loading. Rough cost: about US$3.2–US$9.5 per m² for shade nets (₹300–₹900 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Water and rehydration points: Safe drinking water for vendors and customers. Keeps working with: A refill and cleaning roster agreed with the market association. Avoid: Points nobody is responsible for. Rough cost: about US$110–US$530 per site (₹10,000–₹50,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Planted drains and rain gardens: Planted channels and hollows that soak up runoff so the market does not flood after a storm. Keeps working with: Rubbish collection, or they clog. Avoid: Building them where waste is dumped. Rough cost: about US$5.3–US$32 per m² (₹500–₹3,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - A whole-market package: Shade, water, cool roofs, drainage, trees and waste collection together, run with the vendors. Keeps working with: A vendor committee with a say over the design and the upkeep. Avoid: Beautification that pushes informal vendors out. Rough cost: about US$11,000–US$53,000 per market cluster (₹10,00,000–₹50,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) India’s Street Vendors Act (2014) gives vendors 40% of the seats on each town vending committee and says no vendor may be evicted or relocated until a survey of existing vendors is complete: a hook for designing market cooling with vendors, not around them. (Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, on FAOLEX, https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/ind194977.pdf) ### Bus stops and queues Protects: Commuters, patients queuing at clinics, people waiting for rations or wages, and visitors. Key caution: Put the shade where people actually stand, at the hours they wait. - Cool waiting points: Shade, a bench, drinking water and a board showing the heat alert, at bus stops, clinics and ration shops. Keeps working with: Access for older and disabled people, and someone who refills the water. Avoid: Counting shelters built instead of people protected. Rough cost: about US$530–US$6,300 per site (₹50,000–₹6,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Planted bus stops: Climbers on a frame that shade the stop more each year. Keeps working with: Watering and pruning. Avoid: Living shade with no water plan. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Trees where queues form: Canopy over the places people wait every day. Keeps working with: Root space, water and three years of care. Avoid: Planting where the queue isn’t. Rough cost: about US$21–US$84 per tree, with 2–3 years’ care (₹2,000–₹8,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Shorter waits: Appointment slots, token systems and timed services so fewer people stand in the sun at midday. Keeps working with: Agreement from the clinic, office or transport operator. Avoid: Assuming shade is the only answer. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. Measuring how hot people actually feel on summer days in Tempe, Arizona, researchers found shade from buildings cooled most by day, then trees, then light structures such as sails. Air temperature barely differed between them, and every kind of shade held heat after sunset. (Middel et al., 50 Grades of Shade, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10230332-grades-shade) ### Heat and waterlogging Protects: Neighbourhoods that bake in summer and flood in the monsoon, and the groundwater both depend on. Key caution: Stop sewage and rubbish flowing in, and fund the desilting, before calling it blue-green. - Sponge parks: Small parks shaped to hold, soak up and slowly release stormwater, with plants that cool the area around them. Keeps working with: An overflow, mosquito control and desilting before each monsoon. Avoid: Standing water. Rough cost: about US$8,400–US$18,000 per park (₹8,00,000–₹17,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence); Chennai: 57 sponge parks commissioned for ₹7.67 crore, about ₹13.5 lakh each by our arithmetic - Restored ponds and lakes: Desilted, protected water bodies with planted edges that store floodwater, recharge groundwater and cool their surroundings. Keeps working with: Sewage diverted away, and rubbish kept out. Avoid: Calling a polluted pond a cooling asset. Rough cost: about US$38,000–US$320,000 per pond (₹36,00,000–₹3,00,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence); Chennai: one pond restored for ₹36 lakh - Planted drains and rain gardens: Channels and hollows that slow, clean and soak up runoff from roofs and lanes. Keeps working with: Rubbish collection and an overflow. Avoid: Places where they will become open garbage drains. Rough cost: about US$5.3–US$32 per m² (₹500–₹3,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Permeable paving: Paving that lets rain soak in instead of running off. Keeps working with: Regular cleaning so it does not clog. Avoid: Claiming it cools unless there is shade and moist soil too. Rough cost: about US$9.5–US$26 per m² (₹900–₹2,500 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Recharge pits: Small pits that send roof and courtyard runoff into the ground. Keeps working with: A filter, so polluted water does not reach shallow wells. Avoid: Recharging dirty runoff. Rough cost: about US$53–US$320 per pit (₹5,000–₹30,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) Over four years, Greater Chennai Corporation restored 70 ponds for ₹144.34 crore and built 88 rainwater-harvesting parks for ₹14.74 crore. (The News Minute, https://www.thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/chennai-civic-body-ramps-up-pond-restoration-rainwater-harvesting-parks-ahead-of-monsoon) Bangkok’s Benjakitti Forest Park, a former tobacco factory turned wetland, is designed to hold 87 million litres of water. (Mongabay, 2024, https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/bangkok-turns-to-urban-forests-to-beat-worsening-floods/) China’s sponge-city pilots in 30 cities (2014–2019) often built projects one at a time instead of as a city-wide system, struggled to get engineers and designers working together, and left cities worried about paying for more once pilot money ended. (McPhillips et al., chapter 7 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) Jakarta’s green space was about 5.2–5.6% of the city in 2024–25, sources differ, against a legal target of 30%, now pushed back to 2045. (Metro TV News, https://www.metrotvnews.com/read/KXyCWwmW-target-30-ruang-terbuka-hijau-jakarta-dikejar-hingga-2045) ### Greening where water is short Protects: Trees, soil moisture and groundwater, and the long-term shade they give. Key caution: Planting without water, soil care and a survival budget is not adaptation. - Care for the trees you have: Better tree pits, mulch, compost and looser soil so existing trees take up water and survive. Keeps working with: A yearly care round. Avoid: Replanting instead of fixing why trees die. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Rainwater for trees: Store runoff from roofs and streets to water trees and gardens through dry spells. Keeps working with: Clean tanks and a plan for the dry months. Avoid: Planting with no water source at all. Rough cost: about US$210–US$2,100 per site (₹20,000–₹2,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Treated wastewater for parks: Use treated water from a treatment plant for parks and tree corridors, so greenery does not compete with drinking water. Keeps working with: Treatment that is checked. Avoid: Untreated sewage on public land. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. - Street trees with three years’ care: Hardy, shade-giving species, chosen for the heat and drought ahead. Keeps working with: Species choice, root space, water and a named owner. Avoid: Counting planted trees. Rough cost: about US$21–US$84 per tree, with 2–3 years’ care (₹2,000–₹8,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Dense mini-forests: Small, densely planted native woods on spare public land. Keeps working with: Water through the first years. Avoid: Assuming they beat ordinary shade trees on value. Rough cost: No range solid enough to share: get local quotes. In Berlin’s Johannisthal park, more than 500 of 870 newly planted native trees died within ten years despite watering, so the shade and cooling never arrived. Across the city, about 44,000 street trees were cut between 2012 and 2019 and about 18,000 planted. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) In Santiago de Chile, how well a municipality manages its trees was the strongest predictor of whether they survive, and wealthier municipalities spend far more on it. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) ### Making it last Protects: Every asset above: who targets it, who opens it on an alert, who pays for upkeep, and who hears complaints. Key caution: Often the most useful layer, and the easiest to leave unfunded. - Link the heat plan to the assets: A ward or settlement plan that says which shelters, water points and cool spaces open at each alert level, and who opens them. Keeps working with: A yearly review with the people who use them. Avoid: A plan with no budget or named owners. Rough cost: about US$5,300–US$26,000 per plan (₹5,00,000–₹25,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - An upkeep agreement: A written deal between the council, community groups, schools or vendors on who repaints, waters, prunes, refills and repairs. Keeps working with: Money from the running budget, not only the building budget. Avoid: Paying to build without paying to maintain. Rough cost: about US$2,100–US$11,000 per year, for a cluster of assets (₹2,00,000–₹10,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, low to medium confidence) - Map risk with the people exposed: Walk the area with workers, women, older and disabled people, migrants and renters to see who is exposed, why warnings fail, and where assets could go. Keeps working with: Repeating it as people and places change. Avoid: Relying on satellite heat maps alone. Rough cost: about US$5,300–US$21,000 per baseline (₹5,00,000–₹20,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - A way to complain and be heard: An accessible route for complaints and feedback, set up before work starts. Keeps working with: Someone who answers within a set time. Avoid: Starting work where affected people have no voice or remedy. Rough cost: about US$1,100–US$5,300 per set-up (₹1,00,000–₹5,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) - Find the hooks in existing plans: Search city, disaster, water and climate plans and budgets for mandates and money that cooling can use. Keeps working with: Checking what you find with the officials concerned. Avoid: Assuming nothing exists because nobody uses the words “nature-based solutions”. Rough cost: about US$1,100–US$5,300 per review (₹1,00,000–₹5,00,000 at Indian prices; planning estimate, medium confidence) In Melbourne, officials found money for new green infrastructure was usually available, but running budgets were under pressure and rarely increased, even as the area to maintain grew. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) In Santiago, without long-term financing, only better-off municipalities could take part in green-space programmes, because only they could afford the extra upkeep. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) Less than 10% of the climate finance that reaches cities goes to adaptation and resilience. (Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, The State of Cities Climate Finance, 2021, https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/the-state-of-cities-climate-finance/) The IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions makes inclusive governance and equity one of its eight criteria. (IUCN Global Standard: the eight criteria, https://inbs.iucn.org/understand/8-criteria/) ### Questions before you choose - Avoid: Cut the need for cooling first: shade, cooler roofs, air flow and trees. - Improve: Where machines are needed, choose efficient ones that run on the power and water you really have. - Expand access: Make sure the people most exposed can reach cooling and afford to keep it running. (Clean Cooling Collaborative’s three goals, summarised by Philanthropy Asia Alliance, https://philanthropyasiaalliance.org/our-impact/climate---nature/calls-to-action/clean-cooling-collaborative) - Does it need electricity, and is the supply reliable in the hottest weeks? - What happens in a power cut: does it stop, or keep cooling without power? - Does it need water, and where will that water come from in a dry spell? - Who services or repairs it, and how fast? - Who owns the running cost each year, and from which budget? - Who can use it: renters, women, older people, people with disabilities? Keep the outcomes apart. Name the outcome you want: a cooler room, people feeling comfortable, less heat strain on the body, fewer illnesses, or income kept. They are different. A cooler room does not prove better health, and comfort does not prove less strain, so measure the one you mean. ### Five traps that waste cooling money - Buying before diagnosing: The asset is chosen before anyone has mapped who is exposed, where and why, so the shade ends up where nobody waits. Instead: Start with the people and places at risk, then choose. - Built, with no one to keep it: It looks good for one season, then fades because no running budget or owner was set aside. Instead: Name who keeps each asset working after year one, and from which budget. - Green without water: Trees, parks and green roofs go in with no water source, soil care or survival budget. Instead: Secure the water and three years of care before planting, and count trees that survive. - Promising degrees you haven’t measured: A fixed temperature drop is promised from another place’s study. Instead: Log temperatures in treated and untreated places, and report what you measured. - A list of activities, not a model: A proposal lists many activities, but none says who it protects, what it costs per unit, who owns it and what changes. Instead: For each option, name the users, the unit cost, the owner and the outcome. ### What changes the result - Shade beats air temperature: In hot, sunny places, how hot people feel outdoors depends more on radiant heat from the sun and surfaces than on air temperature. Shade from buildings cooled most by day in a Tempe study, then trees, then light structures. (https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10230332-grades-shade) - Reflective paving can make walking hotter: In Los Angeles, coated roads were up to 6 °C cooler on the surface, but pedestrians above them received about 4 °C more radiant heat. Pair reflective surfaces with shade. (https://news.asu.edu/20200505-discoveries-street-smarts-required-heat-mitigation) - Misting depends on humidity and air movement: In Singapore, a misting fan cut air temperature by about 1.5 °C and made people feel cooler. An overhead misting line without fans made no significant difference. (https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/3/1/11) - Trees cool people more than thermometers show: WRI’s Cool Cities Lab puts the improvement trees make to thermal comfort at roughly 2–8 °C. That measures how hot people feel, which is not the same as air temperature. (https://www.wri.org/insights/urban-trees-cooling-potential) ### Putting a value on cooling Modelled against housing built in its place, Guangzhou’s Haizhu wetland keeps the area within 600 m about 0.25 °C cooler on a typical summer day, and over 1 °C cooler on the site itself. Without it, productivity in nearby heavy outdoor work would fall by 2.5% in May and 16.1% in October, monthly risk of death would rise by 1.23–1.27% from June to September, and cooling bills would rise by about US$1.9 million over 30 years. Most of the wetland’s US$146.8 million value comes from carbon and mental health, not cooling. So make the heat case in lives, heavy outdoor work and bills, not money alone. And the same cooling is worth most to people without air conditioning. ### Four heats in a home A heat warning gives one number: the air temperature in the shade. A family under a tin roof lives with four heats at once, and the worst of it often comes after dark. - Outdoor air: The temperature a weather station measures, in the shade. It is the number in almost every heat warning, but not what people feel inside a tin-roofed room. - The roof: Sun-baked sheet metal gets far hotter than the air. Roofs of informal homes in Mumbai and Pune measured above 50 °C when the air was about 30 °C. (Urban Solutions: how informal settlements stay cool (informal measurements), https://urbansolutionsjournal.substack.com/p/how-are-informal-settlements-staying) - Radiant heat: A hot ceiling gives off heat onto the people below, like standing near a stove, so a room can feel hotter than its air. This is what mean radiant temperature measures. - Indoor air: The air inside, held in by thin walls, few windows and crowded rooms. At night: After sunset the street starts to cool, but thin-roofed homes cool slowly. In low-income homes measured in Dhaka, Delhi, Faisalabad and rural Maharashtra, temperatures in tin-roofed houses swung 3–4 °C more over the month than the outdoor air, and stayed warmer indoors because they cooled so slowly at night. (Tasgaonkar et al., Scientific Data, 2022: indoor heat in low-income homes in South Asia, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01314-5) - 7.6 °C hotter, at most, for people in Ahmedabad’s informal settlements than for people in formal housing, in a survey of 860 households. (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/built-environment/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2022.874751/full) - Up to 9 °C hotter indoors than outside, in pilot measurements in informal settlements in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. (https://www.iied.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/2026-02/22697iied.pdf) - 2–5 °C cooler indoors under reflective roof paint than under ordinary roofs, in Ahmedabad’s informal settlements. (https://www.nrdc.org/bio/anjali-jaiswal/cool-roofs-community-led-initiatives-four-indian-cities) Indoors is not always hotter at midday: in an experiment in The Gambia, metal-roofed houses were about 1.4 °C cooler than the outdoor shade by day, but warmer at night. The danger is nights that do not cool. For heat plans: Heat warnings measure the street. Heat plans can protect the room too: count indoor and night-time heat, warn for hot nights, and pay for cooler roofs where people sleep. ## Worked heat action plans from Asia How places in Asia have turned heat risk into a plan: what happened, what they decided, what changed, and who leads each action. The India heat action plan archive lists 146 verified plans and guidance documents from across India, with a link to each PDF: https://beattheheat.asia/resources/heat-action-plans/india/ ### Ahmedabad’s heat action plan (Ahmedabad, India, 2013 onwards) What happened: In May 2010 a heatwave peaking at 46.8 °C caused an estimated 1,344 excess deaths in the city, 43% more than in the same weeks of 2009 and 2011. What they decided: In 2013 the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, with the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar and NRDC, launched South Asia’s first heat action plan: forecasts from the India Meteorological Department feed colour-coded alerts, departments act together, the public is warned, and health staff are trained. From 2017 the plan added cool roofs. What changed: An evaluation estimated about 1,190 deaths a year were avoided after the plan began, compared with before it. The model has since spread to many other Indian cities and states. - Heat action plans: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Colour-coded alerts issued from IMD forecasts, with inter-agency response - Heat-ready health services: led by Health authorities; paid by Not documented; Health staff trained to recognise and treat heat illness - Cool, affordable housing: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Cool roofs on homes in informal settlements and on public buildings Source: Azhar et al., PLoS ONE, 2014: the 2010 heatwave https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091831 Source: NRDC: the plan’s components and cool roofs https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/ahmedabads-pioneering-plan-now-shielding-millions-killer-heat Source: Hess et al., 2018: deaths avoided https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/ ### Thane’s ward-by-ward heat action plan (Thane, India, 2024 onwards) What happened: In Thane, a fast-growing coastal city next to Mumbai, humidity and warm nights make heat more dangerous than the thermometer suggests, and the risk differs sharply from one ward to the next. What they decided: In March 2024 the Thane Municipal Corporation and CEEW published a heat action plan built on a ward-level risk index of felt heat, warm nights and social vulnerability. A Heatwave Task Force across departments, chaired by an Additional Municipal Commissioner, runs it with emergency procedures. Measures include early warnings, cool roofs and pavements, water stations, shade, and heat preparedness in schools and hospitals. What changed: Its effect on illness and deaths has not yet been publicly evaluated. What it shows is a plan that names who acts and where the risk is highest, before the season starts. - Heat action plans: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Ward-level risk index updated each season, with task-force actions logged against it - Cooling centres and check-ins: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Water stations and shaded areas in the highest-risk wards - Cool, affordable housing: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Cool roofs and cool pavements installed in high-risk wards - Heat-ready health services: led by Health authorities; paid by Not documented; Hospitals and schools with heat preparedness procedures Source: CEEW: How can Thane city tackle heatwave risks with a heat action plan https://www.ceew.in/publications/how-can-thane-city-tackle-heatwaves-risks-with-heat-action-plan Source: Global Heat Health Information Network: Heat Action Plan for Thane City 2024 https://heathealth.info/resources/heat-action-plan-for-thane-city-2024/ ### Tamil Nadu’s state-wide heat network (Tamil Nadu, India, 2024 onwards) What happened: About 68% of Tamil Nadu’s people face 8–9 hours a day of strong heat stress from March to June, and 56% live where summer nights are warmer than the 1981–2011 average. The state’s 2019 heatwave action plan dealt mainly with short-term emergency response. What they decided: In 2024 the State Planning Commission, with WRI India as knowledge partner and support from the British High Commission, convened a Heat Action Network of line departments, including disaster management, health, education, agriculture, environment and forests, and water. Together they wrote India’s first state-wide heat strategy, covering people, animals and ecosystems along three pathways: health and well-being, sustained resources and productivity, and cooling. It builds heat into schemes that already exist rather than starting new ones. What changed: It is a strategy, not yet an evaluated programme. Departments are to take its recommendations to detailed project reports, with progress reviewed every 6–8 months. What it shows is a whole state, not one city, giving heat an owner across departments. - Heat action plans: led by National governments; paid by Not documented; Departments in the Heat Action Network reporting progress every 6–8 months - Heat-ready health services: led by Health authorities; paid by Not documented; Pregnancy-scheme check-ups that screen for heat risk (proposed) - Cool, affordable housing: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Redevelopment tenders for informal settlements that set a limit on heat gain through walls and roofs (proposed) - Green, cool cities: led by National governments; paid by Public budget; Forest and tree cover rising from 23.8% towards 33% by 2030–31 Source: Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 2024: Beating the Heat https://spc.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/Heat_Mitigation_Strategy.pdf Source: WRI India: mapping the path to heat resilience in Tamil Nadu https://wri-india.org/perspectives/mapping-path-heat-resilience-tamil-nadu Source: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, G.O. 215, 2023: the tree cover target https://tnpcb.gov.in/PDF/About_Us/Announcementgos/GoNo_215_101123.pdf ### Singapore’s heat rules for outdoor work (Singapore, 2023 onwards) What happened: In one of the world’s densest, most humid cities, the commercial centre has measured up to about 7 °C warmer than the outskirts, and builders, shipyard and landscape workers labour outdoors through it. A study of 355 workers found each hot day cost a median S$21 in lost income. What they decided: In 2023 the National Environment Agency launched a national heat stress advisory based on wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), which counts humidity, sun and wind, with low, moderate and high levels. The Ministry of Manpower made employers check WBGT hourly at outdoor work, give at least 10 minutes’ shaded rest each hour for heavy work at 32 °C or above, help new workers acclimatise, and enforced it. What changed: In March and June 2024 the ministry inspected 250 workplaces and acted against 78, mainly for missing shaded rest breaks and acclimatisation. The rules have since been revised and strengthened. Their effect on heat illness has not yet been publicly evaluated. - Heat-safe work: led by National governments; paid by Employers; Outdoor worksites checking WBGT hourly and giving shaded rest breaks; workplaces inspected - Heat action plans: led by Weather and climate services; paid by Not documented; Heat stress advisory with three WBGT risk levels, shown by location - Green, cool cities: led by City and local governments; paid by Not documented; Districts modelled for cooling through Cooling Singapore Source: Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment: Heat Stress Advisory, 2023 https://www.mse.gov.sg/latest-news/press-release-heat-stress-advisory/ Source: Ministry of Manpower: enhanced heat stress measures, 2023 https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2023/1024-enhanced-measures-to-reduce-heat-stress-for-outdoor-workers Source: HRD Asia: 78 of 250 worksites non-compliant, 2024 https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/employment-law/more-than-75-worksites-found-non-compliant-with-singapores-enhanced-heat-stress-measures-report/499570 Source: NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024 https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf Source: Cooling Singapore https://www.thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf ### Dhaka acts before the heat peaks (Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2023 onwards) What happened: Bangladesh’s ‘feels-like’ temperature has risen by about 4.5 °C since 1980, and parts of Dhaka run more than 10 °C hotter than the countryside. In April 2024 a long heatwave closed schools for about 33 million children. What they decided: In 2023 Dhaka North City Corporation appointed Asia’s first Chief Heat Officer, a post paid for by the Arsht-Rock foundation rather than the city, to bring heat planning together. The same year the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society’s heatwave early action protocol was approved: when forecasts pass 38 °C, warnings, drinking water, cooling stations and cash grants go out before the peak. What changed: On 21 April 2024 the protocol was activated for Dhaka, with about CHF 500,000 from the IFRC’s emergency fund to reach some 124,000 people. Its effect on illness and deaths has not been publicly evaluated. What it shows is money and a plan agreed before the heat, released by a forecast. - Anticipatory action: led by Community and civil society groups; paid by Not documented; Days from a 38 °C forecast to cash, water and warnings reaching people - Cooling centres and check-ins: led by Community and civil society groups; paid by Not documented; Cooling stations open at three locations during the heatwave - Heat action plans: led by City and local governments; paid by Philanthropy; A Chief Heat Officer bringing the city’s heat planning together Source: Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, 2024 https://www.climatecentre.org/13733/red-crescent-activates-early-action-protocol-for-heatwaves-in-dhaka/ Source: Arsht-Rock: Dhaka North’s Chief Heat Officer, 2023 https://onebillionresilient.org/2023/05/03/bushra-afreen-dhaka-chief-heat-officer/ Source: World Bank, 2025 https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/09/16/bangladesh-faces-health-and-economic-risks-from-rising-temperature-world-bank Source: NBC News: school closures, 2024 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/schools-close-extreme-heat-philippines-bangladesh-asia-rcna149485 ### Adapt the mechanism, not the city: how five cities organise for heat From interviews with city officials in October and November 2024 and published material, as described in the report. These are examples of institutional practice, not evaluations of impact, and details may have changed since. Adapt the mechanism to your own powers, budgets and infrastructure; do not copy the city. (MCR2030, Urban Heat Risk Management Resource Package, 2025, https://mcr2030.undrr.org/publication/urban-heat-risk-management-resource-package) #### Amadora, Portugal (pp. 15–20) - The problem: Rising heat in a dense city with little room for green space, and older and low-income residents at most risk. - How they work together: Civil Protection is the single focal point: it coordinates the departments, consolidates their information and runs the heatwave response, with the mayor’s support keeping heat a shared priority. - Authority and money: About €1 million a year for heat activities within Civil Protection’s budget, which the city itself describes as not enough for comprehensive risk management. - What reaches people: SMS alerts built with a private partner; the Red Cross, fire service and police help spread warnings; health and social teams visit 3,000–4,000 residents twice a week in summer; prepared cooled shelters. - Still unresolved: Space for greenery in dense streets, and building codes still to be updated. - Before adapting it, check: Is there one office that can convene the others and hold a heat budget? Who can do home visits at scale? #### Incheon, Republic of Korea (pp. 21–27) - The problem: More heatwave days and tropical nights, with elderly and low-income neighbourhoods most exposed; a sharp rise in heat illness in 2018. - How they work together: National law treats heatwaves as a disaster, so heat sits inside the city’s disaster structure, led by a Natural Disaster Division, with district headquarters and field units. - Authority and money: A local heat ordinance (2019) and national grants covering part of project costs; some protection is funded through welfare programmes rather than a heat budget. - What reaches people: 1,340 heat shelters (2023), shelter locations shared in safety apps, nearly 7,000 volunteer ‘heatwave helpers’, and data analysis to find 52 priority areas for cooling facilities. - Still unresolved: Competing land uses for urban forests, and long-term funding to scale up. - Before adapting it, check: Does national law give local authorities a mandate and money for heat? Is there data on where older people live alone? #### Cape Town, South Africa (pp. 34–40) - The problem: Heat that falls hardest on low-income neighbourhoods and informal settlements, where most residents have little greenery and no air conditioning, pool or easy way to the beach. - How they work together: A coordinating department convenes rather than implements, alongside existing structures: a business continuity committee, the disaster risk management centre and a climate forum. - Authority and money: No dedicated national heat funding; the city relies on general grants, property taxes and tariffs. - What reaches people: Outreach in the hottest areas, six spray parks in lower-income neighbourhoods, and cooling centres and real-time heat monitoring in planning. - Still unresolved: Upkeep of green infrastructure, and resources to scale up public communication, including ‘message coupling’, which it plans to bring from its drought response to heat. - Before adapting it, check: Is there a body that can convene without taking over others’ mandates? Who keeps essential services running in a heatwave? #### Quito, Ecuador (pp. 28–33) - The problem: A city centre up to 3 °C warmer than its surroundings, while a drought threatens water and hydropower. - How they work together: Heat is managed inside the city’s long-term climate action plan, with an environment secretariat in the lead and the risk management secretariat alongside it. - Authority and money: Funding from national, municipal, corporate and international sources; an ordinance on green and blue infrastructure. - What reaches people: Nature-based solutions and planning rules, with community and international partners. - Still unresolved: Heat is a lower national priority, and national weather data is incomplete. - Before adapting it, check: Does your plan sit inside a wider climate plan with its own budget lines? Are the weather data you rely on maintained? #### Nairobi, Kenya (pp. 41–45) - The problem: Rapid development outpacing climate-sensitive planning, and the loss of green space. - How they work together: Urban heat was made a priority for the first time; work sits with a small climate change department. - Authority and money: Eight staff for all the department’s activities, no dedicated heat strategy yet, and limited funds. - What reaches people: Forecasts from the national weather service reach the public through mainstream media; no dedicated heat warning yet. - Still unresolved: Fragmented, siloed efforts across sectors; no local heat data; low public awareness. - Before adapting it, check: Starting from little is common. What is the first decision, and the first piece of data, that would let the next step happen? ## Plain-language glossary of extreme heat 87 terms that come up again and again in extreme heat, explained in a sentence or two. ### What heat does to the body - **Heatstroke**: A medical emergency. The body’s core temperature rises above about 40 °C and its cooling system fails. Without fast cooling it can kill or cause lasting organ damage. - **Heat exhaustion**: The warning stage before heatstroke: heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness and nausea. Rest, water and cooling usually bring recovery. - **Heat stress**: When the body takes in or makes more heat than it can shed, from hot air, humidity, sun and physical work. - **Acclimatisation**: The body slowly adjusting to heat over one to two weeks. New and returning workers are most at risk until it has. - **Excess deaths**: Deaths above the normal number for that place and time of year. Because death certificates rarely say “heat”, this is how the real toll of a heatwave is counted. - **Older people and heat**: With age, thirst fades and the body sweats less, so it cools more slowly and the heart works harder. Older people in a Kolkata informal settlement were 4.3 times more likely than those in a nearby village to face dangerous heat, because their homes stayed hot at night. - **Heat in pregnancy**: A pregnant body runs warm and has less room to cool. Each 1 °C rise raises the odds of a preterm birth by about 5%, and a heatwave by about 16%. - **Babies and young children in heat**: Babies and small children overheat and lose water faster than adults, and depend on someone else to notice. In 2014–2023, each infant in India faced an average of 7.7 heatwave days a year, 47% more than in the 1990s. - **Heat, kidneys and the heart**: Sweating and dehydration make the heart work harder and can damage the kidneys, especially with repeated exposure. People already living with heart, kidney or lung conditions have less room to cope. - **Sleep in the heat**: To fall asleep, the body needs to cool. On hot nights sleep comes later and ends sooner, so the next day starts already depleted. A study of 47,628 people’s sleep wristbands in 68 countries found hot nights cut sleep. - **Heat and the mind**: Heat is linked to more anxiety, distress and suicide, and to worse outcomes for people living with mental illness. - **When home is hotter than outside**: Thin metal roofs, small windows and crowded rooms can make a home hotter inside than out, worst at night. In Ahmedabad, people in informal settlements faced temperatures up to 7.6 °C higher than people in formal housing. - **Kitchen heat**: Cooking over a fire in a small, smoky kitchen during a heatwave: a daily ‘thermal labour’ that falls hardest on women in the poorest single-room homes. - **Heat illness first aid**: Heatstroke is an emergency, and cooling buys time: move the person to shade, cool them with water and fanning, call for help, and give small sips of water only if they are awake. Hot skin with confusion can mean heatstroke. ### How heat is measured - **Wet-bulb temperature**: Heat and humidity combined into one number, read from a thermometer wrapped in a wet cloth. It shows whether sweat can still cool you. A wet-bulb temperature of 35 °C is often quoted as the limit of human survival; recent studies suggest the real limit is lower. - **Dry heat and humid heat**: Dry heat is high temperature with low humidity: sweat still evaporates, but the body soaks up heat fast. It peaks in South Asia’s pre-monsoon months. Humid heat is warm, wet air in which sweat can’t evaporate, so the body can’t cool itself even at lower temperatures. It dominates Southeast Asia and builds through South Asia’s monsoon, and it is rising faster than dry heat. The two need different warnings and different cooling. - **WBGT (wet-bulb globe temperature)**: The workplace measure of heat. It adds sun and wind to heat and humidity, and is used to set rest breaks and stop work. - **Heat index**: The “feels-like” temperature in the shade, combining air temperature and humidity. In the Philippines, a heat index of 42 °C or more is officially a danger level. - **Heatwave**: A spell of unusually hot weather for that place. There is no single global definition: each country sets its own thresholds. - **Hot nights**: Nights that stay too hot for the body to recover from the day. They are often more dangerous than hot days, and they are rising faster. - **Urban heat island**: Cities running several degrees hotter than the countryside around them, especially at night, because of concrete, traffic, waste heat and few trees. - **Mean radiant temperature**: The heat your body takes in from the sun and from hot surfaces around it: roads, walls and roofs. In strong sun it shapes how hot you feel more than air temperature does, which is why shade matters so much. - **Thermal comfort**: How hot or cold a person feels. It depends on air temperature, humidity, wind, sun, clothing and activity, not on air temperature alone. - **Climate attribution**: Working out how much climate change has added to an event or its harm. The 2026 Lancet Countdown attributes 71.5% of 2023’s heat deaths to climate change, and 11.3 of 13.5 heatwave days per person in 2025. - **Undercounted heat deaths**: Heat deaths that are never recorded as heat deaths, because certificates name the immediate cause, such as a heart attack. In India in 2024, 185 heatstroke deaths were confirmed against 48,385 suspected heatstroke cases, up to 28 July. ### Acting before harm - **Limits to adaptation**: The point beyond which adjusting no longer prevents harm. Places used to heat cope better with days of 30–35 °C, but a study of 2.7 million firms found no adaptation to days above 40 °C. Cutting emissions keeps more places below that limit. - **Heat action plan**: A city’s or country’s plan for the heat season: who issues warnings, at what temperature, and what hospitals, employers and services do next. - **Early warning system**: A forecast that reaches people in time, in a form they understand, with clear advice on what to do. - **Anticipatory action**: Acting on a forecast, before a disaster peaks, by releasing pre-agreed money and help when a trigger is reached. - **Cooling centre**: A public place, such as a library, school or community hall, kept cool during heatwaves for people with no cool space at home. - **Chief heat officer**: A city official whose job is heat: joining up health, water, power, schools and work so that protection is planned before the hot season. Dhaka North City Corporation appointed Asia’s first in 2023. - **Heat alert levels**: Graded warnings, such as caution, danger and extreme danger, set at levels of heat that harm health locally. A good plan ties each level to named actions, so a warning switches protection on. - **Work–rest cycle**: Building shaded rest into each hour of hot, heavy work. In Singapore, employers must give at least 10 minutes’ shaded rest each hour for heavy outdoor work at a wet-bulb globe temperature of 32 °C or more. - **Ward-level heat plan**: A heat action plan that maps risk neighbourhood by neighbourhood, using felt heat, warm nights and who lives there, so help goes first where risk is highest. Thane, next to Mumbai, built its 2024 plan this way. - **Heat-resilient city**: A city that moves beyond emergency response each hot season towards lasting change in its buildings, water, transport, work, health services and cooling, with the people most exposed to heat at the centre. This is how India's Heat Resilient Cities Framework (2026) describes it. - **Heat resilience plan**: A city plan for heat that grows out of a heat action plan. It starts by mapping hotspots and who is most exposed, then sets out interventions for the next one or two years, within a longer-term perspective across city systems. Some Indian cities are setting up urban disaster management authorities to lead them. - **Core elements of a heat plan**: WHO/Europe’s checklist for a complete heat–health action plan: governance, a warning system, people at risk, communication, a resilient health system, reducing exposure, surveillance, and monitoring and learning. - **Heat and learning**: Lost schooling when heat closes schools or makes classrooms too hot to learn in. In April 2024, Bangladesh closed schools for about 33 million children, and 5,288 schools in the Philippines moved to remote learning. - **Heat check-ins**: A call or a knock for people who live alone or can’t easily leave home. In Chicago’s 1995 heatwave, living alone and not leaving home were among the strongest risks of dying. - **Heat in closed places**: Prisons, hostels, care homes and crowded shelters, where people can’t leave for shade. Tamil Nadu’s heat strategy names prisoners among the groups it is meant to reach, and proposes cool roofs and trees for its jails. - **Clinics in a heatwave**: Heatwaves bring surges of patients just as staff, power and supplies are under strain. In 2024, Indian hospitals prepared heatstroke rooms, ice baths and cooled beds before the peak. - **Warning the hospitals first**: A heat warning that reaches clinics a day or two early, so they can add staff, stock fluids and clear beds. After Ahmedabad’s plan prepared hospitals and warned the public, an evaluation estimated about 1,190 deaths a year were avoided. - **Cool classrooms**: A hot classroom is hard to learn in, and when it becomes unsafe, schools close. In 2024, heatwaves disrupted the schooling of 171 million students; South Asia was the most affected region. ### Money and protection - **Parametric insurance**: Insurance that pays out automatically when a measured trigger, such as a temperature threshold, is crossed. There is no claim form and no damage assessment. - **Basis risk**: When the trigger and the real loss don’t match: people suffer from the heat, but the threshold isn’t crossed and no payout comes. - **Risk pool**: A group of countries, cities or insurers that share the cost of disasters, so no single member carries a catastrophe alone. - **Social protection**: Public support such as pensions, cash transfers and unemployment benefits that keeps households out of poverty when income stops. - **Lost work hours**: Work that heat makes unsafe or impossible. The 2026 Lancet Countdown estimates 573 billion potential work hours were lost to heat in 2025, with farm workers losing twice as many hours as any other sector. - **Informal work**: Work without a formal contract, sick pay or social insurance, often outdoors: street vending, construction, farm and home-based work. An OECD report estimates heat costs informal workers about 2.4% of working hours, against 1.4% for formal workers. - **Adaptation finance gap**: The difference between what countries say they need to adapt to climate change and the money that arrives. Forty-eight countries put their health adaptation needs at about US$3.3 billion a year; international funding committed in 2024 covered about a third. - **Heat and credit**: How heat travels from wages to lenders: lost working hours mean missed repayments, and lenders face a cash crunch. About 60% of India’s ₹3.81 trillion microfinance portfolio is in farming and allied work. ### Cooling, land and systems - **Passive cooling**: Cooling a building without using power: shade, airflow, insulation, orientation and reflective surfaces. - **Cool roof**: A roof painted or built to reflect sunlight, so less heat reaches the room below. - **Refrigerant**: The fluid inside air conditioners and fridges that carries heat away. Many common ones are powerful greenhouse gases if they leak. - **Black carbon**: Soot from diesel, wood, coal and brick kilns. It warms the air, and when it settles on snow and ice it darkens them so they melt faster. - **Vicious cycle**: A harm that feeds itself: each turn of the loop makes the next one worse. This map shows where those loops could be interrupted. - **Maladaptation**: A response to heat that makes things worse elsewhere or later, such as air conditioners that cool a room but heat the street. - **Albedo**: How much sunlight a surface reflects. A white roof has a high albedo and stays cooler; dark asphalt has a low albedo and stores heat. - **Aquifer**: Underground layers of rock or sand that hold groundwater, the water that wells and pumps draw from. - **The cooling gap**: The difference between people who can stay cool and those who can’t. Air conditioning may have prevented about 360,000 deaths a year in 2022 and 2023, but only about 3% of households in the poorest countries have it. - **Cooling demand**: How much cooling people need, and the energy it takes. Southeast Asia’s air conditioners could rise from about 40 million to 300 million by 2040, half of them in Indonesia. - **Peak power demand**: The highest electricity load of the day or year, which in hot countries comes with heat and air conditioning. In May and June 2023, heat drove demand up in northern Viet Nam as hydropower reservoirs ran low; blackouts cost about US$1.4 billion. - **Glacier loss**: Mountain ice shrinking faster than snow can replace it. In the Hindu Kush Himalaya, glaciers lost ice 65% faster in the 2010s than in the decade before, and could lose 30–50% of their volume by 2100. - **Peat fires**: Fires that smoulder in drained peatland, the thick, wet soil of tropical swamps. Once dry, peat burns underground for weeks and fills the air with haze. Indonesia’s 2015 forest and peat fires cost an estimated US$16.1 billion. - **Cold chains in the heat**: Every fridge and cool box from the factory to the patient or the plate. Without reliable power, fridges for food, medicines and vaccines fail; 526 million tonnes of food are lost each year for lack of refrigeration. - **When phones go quiet**: Phone masts and networks need power and cooling too. In Bangladesh in 2026, mobile signals weakened as blackouts spread; warnings, mobile payments and calls for help all ride on them. - **Power grids in a heatwave**: Demand peaks as everyone switches on cooling, just as hot lines and transformers struggle. An early World Bank estimate put the cost of northern Viet Nam’s power cuts in May and June 2023 at US$1.4 billion. - **Water for power, power for water**: Many power plants need water to cool, and water pumps need power to run, so in a heatwave each strains the other. In 2016, India lost 14 TWh of electricity because thermal power plants ran short of water. - **The diesel fallback**: When the grid fails, homes, shops and hospitals that can afford it switch to diesel generators, which keep the lights on and add to the heat and the smoke. There are 20 to 30 million back-up generator sites in low- and middle-income countries. - **Roads and rails in the heat**: Steel rails expand and can buckle, so trains slow; roads soften; hot, thin air means planes need longer runways. Journeys, shifts and supplies, including medicines and food, are delayed. ### Nature in the city - **Evapotranspiration**: Water evaporating from soil and leaves. It draws heat out of the air, so well-watered plants cool their surroundings. Plants short of water stop cooling. - **Nature-based solutions**: Using living systems such as trees, wetlands, soils and water to tackle problems like heat and flooding while also benefiting people and nature. A park only works as one if it is planned for those benefits and kept alive. - **Ecosystem services**: The benefits people get from nature: shade and cooling, cleaner air and water, rain soaking into the ground, food and places to rest. The same service is worth most to those with the fewest alternatives, such as cooling for people without air conditioning. - **Blue-green infrastructure**: A network of water (blue) and plants and soil (green), such as rivers, ponds, wetlands, parks and planted drains, designed to manage rain and heat together. - **Grey infrastructure**: Engineered, mostly concrete systems such as pipes, drains, embankments and pumps. Many good solutions mix grey and green. - **Sponge city**: A city designed to soak up, store, clean and slowly release rainwater through parks, wetlands, permeable ground and planted drains, not only pipes. China piloted it in 30 cities from 2014 to 2019; Chennai and Bangkok are building sponge parks. - **Co-benefits**: The extra gains a measure brings beyond its main aim, such as a park built to hold floodwater that also cools the street and gives children somewhere to play. - **Ecosystem-based adaptation**: Using nature to help people adapt to climate change, such as mangroves against storm surges or trees for shade. A kind of nature-based solution. - **Green gentrification**: When a new park or greening raises rents and land prices so much that the poorer residents it was meant to help are pushed out. - **Environmental justice**: A fair share of environmental benefits and harms, and a fair say in decisions about them. Poorer neighbourhoods are often hotter and less green. - **Agroforestry**: Growing trees alongside crops or livestock. The trees shade the soil, help it hold moisture and give farmers another source of income. - **Hot nights and crops**: Crops need cool nights too. At the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, rice yields fell about 10% for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature. - **City trees under heat**: Heat, drought and missing upkeep can kill street trees just when their shade is needed. Across 164 cities, 56% of urban tree and shrub species already face temperatures beyond their natural range, and 76% could by 2050. - **Shade follows wealth**: Trees and parks cluster in better-off neighbourhoods, which can pay for them and their upkeep, so poorer districts stay hotter. In Jakarta, green space is concentrated in wealthier areas while dense low-income neighbourhoods act as heat islands. - **When dry soil heats the air**: Moist soil cools the air as its water evaporates. When soil dries, that cooling stops, so the air heats faster and dries the soil further: a loop that water kept in the ground can break. - **Asia’s last tropical ice**: On Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia, 99% of the glacier area has gone since 1850. About 0.17 km² was left in 2024, and it will very likely disappear around 2030. - **Heat, drought and salt water**: Heat and drought lower rivers and canals, and the sea pushes inland. In Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta in February 2024, farmers who pumped salty canal water onto their rice lost up to half their crop. ## Organisations working on extreme heat 330 organisations across Asia and the world already working on parts of the web of extreme heat. Inclusion describes relevant published work. It does not imply partnership, affiliation or endorsement. Each organisation is marked with its main side in a heat alliance. Demand: Holds the need or the duty to protect people: governments and public agencies, employers, and organisations of the workers and communities affected. Supply: Provides what protection needs: technology, services and delivery on the ground, insurance, lending and grants, research and data. Platform: Connects demand and supply: networks, alliances and conveners, and the bodies that set shared rules or standards for a market. Many play more than one part; this is the main one. ### Global networks and organisations - Global Heat Health Information Network (WHO, WMO and NOAA) (Platform): A member-driven forum of scientists, practitioners and policymakers. Its resource library gathers guidance on heat warnings, heat action plans and case studies, heat at work and heat in cities. (https://heathealth.info/resource-library/) - International Labour Organization (Platform): Sets out the evidence and standards for protecting workers from heat stress. (https://www.ilo.org/resource/news/increase-heat-stress-predicted-bring-productivity-loss-equivalent-80) - UNICEF (Platform): Tracks how heatwaves and other climate hazards disrupt children’s schooling. (https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024) - Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (Platform): An alliance of humanitarian, development and research partners with Zurich Insurance Group. In 2024 it expanded from floods to extreme heat, with work in countries including Bangladesh and Nepal. Its 2026 study of heat early warning systems covered eight countries, among them Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam. (https://zcralliance.org/resources/?q=heat) - Heat Resilience Action (HERA), formerly Climate Resilience for All (Platform): Works on extreme heat with a focus on women and low-income communities. With SEWA and Swiss Re, it combined insurance payouts and cash for lost income after India’s 2024 heatwaves. (https://heranow.org/resources/as-extreme-heat-threats-grow-can-heat-insurance-offer-protection/) - UNEP Cool Coalition (Platform): A global network for clean, efficient cooling and cooler cities. With the COP30 Presidency, it runs Beat the Heat, an initiative supporting cities in the Global South with heat assessments and cooling action. (https://coolcoalition.org) - Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (Supply): Wrote the Heatwave Guide for Cities with more than 25 partners, covering how cities prepare for, respond to and learn from heatwaves. (https://preparecenter.org/resource/heatwave-guide-for-cities) - Sustainable Energy for All (Platform): Measures who lacks access to cooling through its Chilling Prospects series. (https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023) - International Energy Agency (Platform): Analyses cooling demand and how efficiency standards can cut it. (https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling) - Practical Action (Supply): Connects heat risk intelligence, local action, practical technology, institutions and finance, following a Sense → Decide → Act → Sustain logic. In Nepal, Dhangadhi’s heat action plan links temperature, humidity and health data, hotspot mapping and community views to thresholds and set municipal responses. In Bangladesh, heat is being built into early warning and livelihood work. A partner in the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance. (https://practicalaction.org/news-stories/zurich-climate-resilience-alliance-to-expand-focus-on-destructive-extreme-heat/) - People’s Courage International (Supply): Works on safe migration and labour protection for migrant workers in South and Southeast Asia. Its Migrants Resilience Collaborative supports more than seven million households. (https://www.weforum.org/organizations/peoples-courage-international/) - World Bank (Supply): Its 2026 report A Livable Future finds extreme heat already costs South Asia the equivalent of about 31 million full-time jobs a year, and sets out how cities can protect jobs and growth. (https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/publication/a-livable-future-protecting-jobs-and-growth-from-extreme-heat-in-south-asia-s-cities) - World Meteorological Organization (Platform): With WHO, runs the South Asia Climate–Health Desk with India’s meteorological agencies, turning weather and climate information into health protection. (https://wmo.int/node/38332) - C40 Cities (Platform): Its Cool Cities Accelerator brings together cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Singapore on early warnings, building standards and tree cover. (https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/bengaluru-joins-global-coalition-to-beat-extreme-heat-3786724) - Vital Strategies (Supply): Through the Partnership for Healthy Cities, supports Bangkok to pilot heat-health action in high-risk districts: outdoor worker protection, cooling spaces and drinking water. (https://www.nationthailand.com/pr-news/40071201) - Global Buildings Performance Network (Supply): Works on residential building codes in India and Southeast Asia, where demand for cooling homes is rising fastest. (https://gbpn.org/news-gbpn-sharpens-its-focus-decarbonising-housing-india-and-south-east-asia) - Start Network (Platform): Its members run heatwave anticipatory action in Pakistan, releasing funds automatically when forecasts cross agreed triggers. (https://startnetwork.org/news-and-blogs/getting-ahead-deadly-heat) - Mercy Corps (Supply): A Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance partner leading work on extreme heat in Nepal, where the southern plains passed 40 °C on 50 days in 2024. (https://europe.mercycorps.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/too-hot-to-ignore.pdf) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Platform): Helps governments connect heat resilience with health systems, urban planning and finance. Its work includes a financing strategy for tackling urban heat in Bangkok. (https://www.undp.org/thailand/publications/bangkok-financing-strategy-tackling-urban-heat) - UN-Habitat (Platform): Develops guidance on urban heat management, helping cities combine planning, building design, green infrastructure and cooling to protect vulnerable residents. (https://unhabitat.org/handbook-on-urban-heat-management-in-the-global-south) - UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (Platform): Helps governments strengthen heat risk governance through practical assessment tools, coordinated planning and investment across sectors and levels of government. (https://www.undrr.org/our-work/extreme-heat-resilience) - Resilient Cities Network (Platform): Works with cities and communities on heat resilience, including indoor heat monitoring and locally designed cooling in Southeast Asian cities. (https://resilientcitiesnetwork.org/heat-stays-in-peoples-homes/) - ICLEI South Asia (Platform): Supports cities with heat risk assessments, heat action plans, urban greening and preparedness tools in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. (https://southasia.iclei.org/news/extreme-heat-new-knowledge-products-highlight-need-to-build-resilience-adaptation/) - United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) (Platform): Provides technical assistance for urban heat resilience, including work with Iloilo City in the Philippines and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. (https://uclg-aspac.org/turning-the-heat-into-action-how-iloilo-city-and-coxs-bazar-respond-to-urban-heat/) - Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) (Demand): Documents how heat affects informal workers’ health and earnings, and develops worker education, policy recommendations and protection guidance with local organisations. (https://www.wiego.org/research-library-publications/working-heat-street-vendors-delhi-india/) - International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) (Platform): Mobilises national societies and communities to prepare for heatwaves and reach people at risk, including through its global Heat Action Day campaign. (https://www.ifrc.org/get-involved/campaign-us/heat-action-day) - Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) (Platform): Supports locally relevant climate knowledge and partnerships, including heat early warning, urban health resilience and preparedness planning in India. (https://cdkn.org/project/urban-health-and-climate-resilience-in-india) - United for Efficiency (UNEP-led) (Platform): Helps countries strengthen appliance efficiency policies and standards, including work across Southeast Asia on efficient, climate-friendly air conditioning. (https://united4efficiency.org/project/asean/) - Humanity & Inclusion (HI) (Supply): Sets out disability-inclusive approaches to climate action, including accessible early warnings, which people with disabilities often lack. A heat-specific programme in Asia is not confirmed. (https://www.hi-canada.org/sn_uploads/Disability-Inclusive-approaches-to-climate-action_1.pdf) - Human Rights Watch (Supply): Documents how extreme heat endangers older people and people with disabilities, and how heat and climate plans leave them out. (https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/30/extreme-heat-signals-need-inclusive-climate-action) - World Health Organization (Platform): Supports Indonesian heat-health coordination and publishes occupational heat guidance with WMO. (https://www.who.int) - The Conduit Foundation (Platform): Develops an urban-heat workstream connecting city leaders and finance. (https://www.conduitfoundation.org.uk/) - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) (Demand): Calls for negotiated heat protection covering migrant, seasonal and informal workers. (https://www.iuf.org) - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Platform): Co-produced the extreme heat and agriculture report. (https://www.fao.org) - ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability (Platform): Supports urban heat governance and heat-relevant planning tools. (https://iclei.org) - UN Environment Programme (Platform): Convenes heat-resilience and sustainable-cooling initiatives. (https://www.unep.org) - Freetown City Council (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://fcc.gov.sl) - City of Athens (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://www.cityofathens.gr) - International Organization for Standardization (Platform): Publishes the WBGT-based occupational heat-stress screening standard. (https://www.iso.org) ### Governments and regional bodies in Asia - National Disaster Management Authority, India (Demand): Issues national guidance for state and city heat action plans. (https://ndma.gov.in) - National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Nepal (Demand): Issued Nepal’s first federal heat plan in 2024. (https://english.onlinekhabar.com/reassessing-nepals-heat-wave-response-lessons-from-2024-and-the-way-forward.html) - Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, with IIPH Gandhinagar and NRDC (Demand): Launched South Asia’s first heat action plan in 2013: early warnings, public outreach and training for medical staff. (https://www.nrdc.org/press-releases/new-evidence-shows-pioneering-heat-action-plan-helps-millions-avoid-killer-heat) - Dhaka North City Corporation (Demand): Appointed Asia’s first Chief Heat Officer in 2023, focused on cooling the poorest neighbourhoods. (https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/310693/arsht-rock-bangladesh%E2%80%99s-first-chief-heat-officer) - Nepal Red Cross Society (Supply): Published the Dhangadhi Heat Action Plan in 2025 with the Climate Centre, setting out when and where to act before and during heatwave days in a city that passes 40 °C every year. (https://www.climatecentre.org/publications/16234/dhangadhi-heat-action-plan-2025/) - Department of Education, Philippines (Demand): Lets school heads suspend in-person classes when the heat index is dangerous, and moved the school year back to a June start to keep classes out of the hottest months. (https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1940232/deped-all-set-for-june-school-opening-in-25) - Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (Supply): Runs an early action protocol for heat, first activated in April 2024 during Dhaka’s longest recorded heatwave. (https://www.atachcommunity.com/our-impact/case-studies/bangladesh-early-action-protocol-for-heat-events/) - ICIMOD (Platform): Monitors the Himalaya’s snow and ice, and helps brick kilns switch to cleaner technology that cuts the soot darkening the glaciers. (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/existing-solutions-could-slash-soot-emissions-by-80-by-2030-icimod) - Asian Development Bank (Supply): Supports heat resilience in Asian cities, including technical assistance on heat stress among women and girls in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan. Its 2026 report on the heat crisis in Thailand and Southeast Asia calls for mobilising public and private finance, and proposes a heat action plan for Thailand. (https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/beating-heat-investing-pro-poor-solutions-urban-resilience) - UN ESCAP (Platform): Helps fast-growing cities in South and Southeast Asia plan for extreme urban heat, working with Iloilo City and Cox’s Bazar. (https://unescap.org/our-work/environment-development/cities-for-a-sustainable-future/addressing-urban-extreme-heat) - India Meteorological Department and IITM Pune (Demand): Issue India’s heatwave forecasts and work with WHO and WMO on the South Asia Climate–Health Desk. (https://wmo.int/node/38332) - PAGASA, Philippines (Demand): Issues heat index warnings with danger levels that local governments use to decide when to suspend classes. (https://www.gmanetwork.com/regionaltv/news/115185/pagasa-urges-public-to-brace-for-more-intense-heat/story/) - Ministry of Manpower, Singapore (Demand): Requires hourly wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) checks on outdoor worksites, shaded rest breaks when heat stress is high, and time for new workers to acclimatise, and enforces the rules. (https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2023/1024-enhanced-measures-to-reduce-heat-stress-for-outdoor-workers) - National Centre for Disease Control, India (Demand): Leads heat-health guidance, training and surveillance through India’s National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health. (https://ncdc.mohfw.gov.in/includes/About/CentresAndDivision/CEOH.php) - National Environment Agency, Singapore (Demand): Issues public heat stress advisories through myENV and weather services, so people can adjust outdoor activity as heat rises. (https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/new-heat-stress-advisory-launched-to-guide-public-on-minimising-risk-of-heat-related-illnesses) - Hong Kong Observatory (Demand): Issues very hot weather warnings with protective advice, including for people more vulnerable to heat. (https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/wservice/warning/coldhot.htm) - Thai Meteorological Department (Demand): Publishes heat index forecasts and works with health authorities to help people respond to dangerous heat and humidity. (https://hpc.tmd.go.th/NCEP2/) - Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Sindh (Pakistan) (Demand): Coordinated the 2024 heatwave response across rural Sindh: by late June, 40 humanitarian partners ran 294 heat stabilisation camps, with awareness sessions and transport to heatstroke centres. (https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pdma-sindh-situation-report-heatwave-2024-28-june-2024) - India Meteorological Department (Demand): Issues impact-based heat forecasts and seasonal heatwave outlooks. (https://mausam.imd.gov.in) - Ministry of Health, Indonesia (Demand): Co-launched KATALIS-HEAT for heat-health assessment and cross-sector action. (https://kemkes.go.id) - Ministry of Environment, Indonesia (Demand): Collaborates in Indonesia’s KATALIS-HEAT initiative. (https://kemenlh.go.id) - BMKG: Indonesia (Demand): Provides meteorological collaboration for KATALIS-HEAT. (https://www.bmkg.go.id) - Varanasi Municipal Corporation (Demand): Launched a city heat action plan with technical and community partners. (https://nnvns.org.in/) - Churu District Administration (Demand): Launched a local heat action plan with technical partners. (https://churu.rajasthan.gov.in) - Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (Demand): Developed and implemented Ahmedabad’s heat action plan with public-health partners. (https://ahmedabadcity.gov.in) - Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City (Demand): Published a municipal heat action plan with Red Cross support. (https://dhangadhimun.gov.np) - Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal (Demand): Provided forecasts used to activate RAIN’s heat early action. (https://www.dhm.gov.np) - Pakistan Meteorological Department (Demand): Contributed meteorological expertise to Sindh’s heat-planning consultation. (https://www.pmd.gov.pk) - Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka (Demand): Issues warm-weather advisories distinguishing heat index from air temperature. (https://meteo.gov.lk) - Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka (Demand): Contributed expertise to a heat-stress and air-quality coordination session. (https://www.cea.lk) - Ministry of Labour and Employment, India (Demand): Issued coordinated heat-protection directions for workers and labour agencies. (https://labour.gov.in) - Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (Demand): Was directed to prepare heatstroke help desks and supplies at its facilities. (https://www.esic.gov.in) - Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (Demand): Maintains a heat-action register covering budgets, local plans and sector actions. (https://sdma.kerala.gov.in) - Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare, Kerala (Demand): Received mitigation funding for heat impacts on cardamom farmers. (https://keralaagriculture.gov.in) - General Education Department, Kerala (Demand): Introduced school water bells as part of heat protection. (https://generaleducation.kerala.gov.in) - Energy Management Centre, Kerala (Demand): Launched the Cool Anganwadi initiative. (https://www.keralaenergy.gov.in) - Ministry of Jal Shakti, India (Demand): Issued advice on maintaining water-service delivery during heatwaves. (https://jalshakti.gov.in) - Bangladesh Meteorological Department (Demand): Provides heatwave data used in Bangladesh Red Crescent early action. (https://www.bmd.gov.bd) - Directorate General of Health Services, Bangladesh (Demand): Launched national heat-illness guidelines with UNICEF support. (https://dghs.gov.bd) - Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (Demand): Runs heat warnings and public cooling spaces. (https://www.bangkok.go.th) - PAGASA (Demand): Publishes the Philippines’ heat-index information service. (https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph) - Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore (Demand): Coordinates heat resilience and sustainable cooling policy. (https://www.mse.gov.sg) - Workplace Safety and Health Council, Singapore (Demand): Publishes implementation guidance for workplace heat protection. (https://www.tal.sg/wshc) - Sentosa Development Corporation (Demand): Develops public cooling nodes and a cooling roadmap on Sentosa. (https://www.sentosa.gov.sg) - Housing & Development Board, Singapore (Demand): Partners on residential centralised cooling at Tengah. (https://www.hdb.gov.sg) - Building and Construction Authority, Singapore (Demand): Supports Go25 and building-operator guidance on efficient cooling. (https://www1.bca.gov.sg) - Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore (Demand): Uses urban-climate modelling and planning to address heat. (https://www.ura.gov.sg) - Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike / Bengaluru city government (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://bbmp.gov.in) - Jakarta Provincial Government (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://www.jakarta.go.id) - Quezon City Government (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://quezoncity.gov.ph) - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://portal.mcgm.gov.in) - Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (Demand): Participates in the C40 Cool Cities Accelerator for heat protection and urban adaptation. (https://www.kmc.gos.pk) - Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India (Platform): Administers efficiency labels covering air conditioners, fans and refrigeration. (https://beeindia.gov.in) - Delhi Disaster Management Authority (Demand): Coordinates Delhi’s heat action planning and partner responsibilities. (https://ddma.delhi.gov.in) - Delhi Jal Board (Demand): Reports drinking-water preparedness and targeted extra tankers for heat-affected areas. (https://delhijalboard.delhi.gov.in) - Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Demand): Provides heat-season shelter arrangements and public shelter information. (https://delhishelterboard.in) ### Research and evidence - Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) (Supply): Assessed heat risk in all 734 districts of India in 2025, finding 57% of districts, home to three in four Indians, at high or very high risk. Its 2026 heat-health reports for the GHHIN South Asia hub cover India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, and it helped Thane build its heat action plan. (https://www.ceew.in/publications?field_focus_area_tid=All&field_pub_type_tid=All&field_authors_target_id_selective=All&title=heat) - Lancet Countdown (Supply): Tracks heat deaths, lost working hours and other health impacts of climate change every year. (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01822-1) - NUS Heat Resilience & Performance Centre (Platform): Hosts the Southeast Asia Hub of the Global Heat Health Information Network, bringing governments and partners together on heat and health. (https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/newsletters/issue54/dossier/nus-centre-designated-southeast-asia-hub-for-global-heat-health-info-exchange) - Cornell Global Labor Institute (Supply): With Schroders, mapped heat and flood risk in garment hubs including Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, and found few fashion brands require heat protection in their supplier codes. (https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/global-labor-institute/higher-ground-fashions-climate-breakdown) - International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (Supply): Showed from its Philippine farm that warmer nights cut rice yields, and breeds rice that copes better with heat. (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101) - icddr,b (Supply): Works with Bangladesh’s Department of Agricultural Extension and others on HeatShield, which helps farmers cope with extreme heat. (https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/perspective/who-owns-the-response-to-heat-in-bangladesh-everyone-does/) - BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (Supply): Part of a South Asian partnership with CEEW, NRDC, UN ESCAP and the Global Heat Health Information Network assessing heat-health action across countries. (https://www.ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-sfc-nrdc-unescap-brac-jpgsph-ghhin-countries-synthesis-press-release.pdf) - IISER Pune (Supply): Leads the South Asia Scientific Research Consortium on how heat affects different populations, with Rockefeller Foundation support. (https://wmo.int/node/38332) - International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) (Supply): Has researched the health and economic toll of heat stress on informal workers in urban Bangladesh. (https://www.iied.org/node/83215) - Heat and Health Research Centre, University of Sydney (Supply): Tested low-cost cooling for Bangladeshi garment workers: fans, drinking water and reflective roofs recovered much of the 12–15% output lost to heat. (https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2025/10/21/garment-factories-are-sweltering--these-simple-fixes-could-keep-.html) - Salata Institute, Harvard University (Supply): Published Critical Perspectives on Extreme Heat in India in 2026, covering heat action plans, insurance and informal work. (https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/April-2026-Critical-Perspectives-on-Extreme-Heat-in-India_web.pdf) - WRI India (Supply): Works on heat mitigation planning with Indian cities, including greening and cooling pilots in Kochi and Mumbai and the Bengaluru Heat Collective. (https://india.mongabay.com/2025/04/safeguarding-indian-cities-from-heat-in-conversation-with-sudeshna-chatterjee-interview/) - Good Business Lab (Supply): Researching heat, health and gender in India’s and Bangladesh’s garment sector, 2025–2027. (https://lirneasia.net/futureworksasia/projects/heat-health-and-gender/) - Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) (Supply): Develops heat hotspot assessments and gender-sensitive heat action plans in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. (https://irade.org/) - Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) (Supply): Researches urban heat and tests passive and low-energy cooling shelters that give outdoor workers safe places to rest and recover. (https://iihs.co.in/publication/evaluating-indoor-thermal-resilience-of-passive-and-low-power-cooling-shelters-for-outdoor-workers-in-india/) - Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) (Supply): Builds heat intelligence and decision-support tools for Indian cities, including the BHRIGU National Heat Insights Explorer. (https://cstep.in/projects/building-heat-resilience-in-indias-growing-urbanscapes-bhrigu/) - The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (Supply): Researches thermal comfort, efficient buildings and sustainable cooling, combining passive design with better cooling equipment. (https://www.teriin.org/project/sheetal-alliance-sustainable-habitat-energy-efficiency-and-thermal-comfort-all-cooling) - Sustainable Futures Collaborative (Supply): Studies heat action plans and their implementation gaps, and how policy, finance and social protection can make heat resilience last. (https://www.sustainablefutures.org/blog/beyond-heat-action-plans-inclusive-heat-policy-needs-grounded-research-and-collaborative-action/) - Karachi Urban Lab (Supply): Researches how low-income residents and informal workers in Karachi live with heat, including access to shade, cooling, water and reliable infrastructure. (https://www.karachiurbanlab.com/projects/cool-infrastructures-life-with-heat-in-the-off-grid-city.html) - Singapore Management University, Urban Institute (Supply): Studies urban heat vulnerability and cooling through the Cooling Singapore collaboration, linking neighbourhood conditions to climate-sensitive planning. (https://cityperspectives.smu.edu.sg/wcs-2026/pages/research/cooling-singapore-solutions-for-a-heat-resilient-city.html) - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (Supply): Researches urban heat, ventilation, tree canopy and building cooling in dense cities. (https://researchportal.hkust.edu.hk/en/publications/evaluating-energy-and-microclimate-impacts-of-passive-and-high-ef/) - London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Supply): Researches heat-related health risks and adaptation, including ways to protect pregnant women and newborns, with partners in Africa and Pakistan. (https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2024/tackling-premature-births-face-climate-change) - Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (Supply): Studies occupational heat exposure among workers in India, including physiological strain, dehydration, kidney health and productivity. (https://iqac.sriramachandra.edu.in/iqacreq/sdg13/environmental-education-measures-1332evd2.pdf) - CEPT University, Centre for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy (Supply): Tests building and cooling performance, including work with RMI on air conditioners that cool efficiently in real heat and humidity. (https://rmi.org/resources/bringing-super-efficient-air-conditioners-to-the-market/) - Heat Island Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Supply): Researches reflective roofs and pavements, urban trees and other measures that cool buildings and cities while cutting energy use. (https://heatisland.lbl.gov/index.php/cool-science) - Heat Policy Innovation Hub, Duke University (Platform): Brings researchers, governments and communities together on heat policy, including adaptable heat action planning tools. (https://climate.duke.edu/annual-report/items/heat-policy-innovation-hub/) - CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) (Supply): Breeds heat-tolerant maize for rainfed smallholder farms with national research institutes and seed companies. Hybrids are now grown in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan. (https://www.cimmyt.org/projects/heat-stress-tolerant-maize-for-asia/) - ICRISAT (Supply): Improves the heat and drought tolerance of dryland crops such as pearl millet, sorghum and chickpea, which feed rainfed farming households across South Asia. (https://www.icrisat.org/key-impacts/climate-action) - Nature Conservation Foundation (Supply): Has monitored Lakshadweep’s reefs since 1998 and links their decline to repeated marine heatwaves, with consequences for island fishing communities. (https://www.ceab.csic.es/en/?p=17541) - BRAC University: James P Grant School of Public Health (Supply): Contributes heat-health country evidence to the South Asia hub. (https://bracjpgsph.org) - Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Platform): Hosts the South Asia Climate and Health Desk linked to the heat-health hub. (https://www.tropmet.res.in) - Universitas Indonesia (Supply): Serves as a local implementing partner in KATALIS-HEAT. (https://www.ui.ac.id) - Hasanuddin University (Supply): Serves as a local implementing partner in KATALIS-HEAT. (https://www.unhas.ac.id) - Diponegoro University (Supply): Serves as a local implementing partner in KATALIS-HEAT. (https://www.undip.ac.id) - Asian Institute of Technology (Supply): Leads CLARE-ASEAN, including named urban-heat research projects. (https://ait.ac.th) - Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Supply): Partners through its Malay World institute in Be-Housing heat research. (https://www.ukm.my) - Thailand Environment Institute (Supply): Leads HAMR heat-adaptation research in three Mekong cities. (https://www.tei.or.th) - RMIT University Vietnam (Supply): Partners in HAMR urban-heat adaptation research. (https://www.rmit.edu.vn) - Royal University of Phnom Penh (Supply): Partners in HAMR urban-heat adaptation research. (https://www.rupp.edu.kh) - Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar (Supply): Provides public-health support for city heat action planning. (https://iiphg.edu.in) - Institute of Himalayan Risk Reduction (Supply): Assessed institutions and opportunities for heat anticipatory action in Nepal. (https://ihrr.org.np) - UK Met Office (Supply): Serves as a technical partner to Nepal’s RAIN anticipatory-action programme. (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk) - Aga Khan University (Supply): Develops heat education and locally led city heat action plans. (https://www.aku.edu) - National Building Research Organisation, Sri Lanka (Supply): Contributed expertise to a heat-stress and air-quality coordination session. (https://www.nbro.gov.lk) - Sattva Consulting (Supply): Co-produced a landscape of Indian urban heat challenges and actors. (https://www.sattva.co.in) - St John’s Medical College Hospital (Supply): Contributes community-health expertise to domestic-worker heat preparedness. (https://www.stjohns.in) - GeoHazards International (Supply): Co-produced Kerala heat analysis. (https://www.geohaz.org) - Woodwell Climate Research Center (Supply): Co-produced Kerala heat analysis. (https://www.woodwellclimate.org) - Singapore-ETH Centre (Supply): Participates in Cooling Singapore 2.0 urban-climate modelling. (https://sec.ethz.ch) - Singapore Management University (Supply): Participates in Cooling Singapore 2.0 urban-climate modelling. (https://www.smu.edu.sg) - Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Supply): Participates in Cooling Singapore 2.0 urban-climate modelling. (https://smart.mit.edu) - TUMCREATE (Supply): Participates in Cooling Singapore 2.0 urban-climate modelling. (https://www.tum-create.edu.sg) - Cambridge CARES (Supply): Participates in Cooling Singapore 2.0 urban-climate modelling. (https://www.cares.cam.ac.uk) - CGAP (Supply): Analyses SEWA’s heat-finance evolution, including insurance and donor-funded cash. (https://www.cgap.org) - International Food Policy Research Institute (Supply): Received an announced grant to develop heat-resilient finance for street food vendors in South Asia. (https://www.ifpri.org) - MicroSave Consulting (Supply): Received an announced grant for municipal heat capability and civil society engagement. (https://www.microsave.net) - International Livestock Research Institute (Supply): Developed cattle heat-stress research using a digital twin. (https://www.ilri.org) - University of Thessaly: FAME Laboratory (Supply): Collected occupational heat-strain and mitigation evidence in Qatar. (https://www.uth.gr) - Tsinghua University (Supply): Partnered on a winning climate-friendly cooling prototype tested in India. (https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn) - Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (Supply): Helped administer the Global Cooling Prize. (https://aeee.in) - CEPT University (Supply): Helped administer the Global Cooling Prize. (https://cept.ac.in) - La Isla Network (Supply): Develops occupational heat-protection research and rest-shade-hydration programmes. (https://laislanetwork.org) ### Working on the ground - Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) (Demand): Protects women informal workers’ income in heatwaves. After the May 2024 heatwaves, more than 46,000 members received insurance payouts. (https://www.swissre.com/our-business/public-sector-solutions/insights/parametric-structure-for-sewa-in-south-east-asia.html) - Mahila Housing Trust (Supply): Cools homes in informal settlements with reflective and modular roofs, and runs heat income insurance for women workers. (https://citizenmatters.in/new-cool-roof-solutions-heat-in-informal-settlements/) - ADRA India (Supply): Ran an anticipatory heatwave response in 2025 with national and district authorities. (https://adraindia.org/anticipatory-heatwave-response-in-2025/) - HomeNet Thailand (Demand): With WIEGO, surveyed more than 1,000 informal workers in Bangkok on heat: nearly 80% had cut their hours. A trusted link between workers and authorities. (https://www.wiego.org/research-library-publications/climate-change-and-heat-stress-impacts-bangkok-thailand/) - All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) (Supply): An Ahmedabad-based institute that helps Indian states, districts and cities turn heat warnings into local action. It supports local heat action planning, surveyed 121 street vendors, auto drivers and construction and domestic workers in Lucknow on how heat hits their work, offers Afat Vimo disaster microinsurance to low-income families, and runs a regular southasiadisasters.net series on extreme heat. (https://aidmi.org/key-resources-on-extreme-heat-cooling/) - SEEDS (Supply): Combines building-level heat risk mapping, community preparedness and affordable cool roofs for vulnerable urban settlements in India. (https://www.seedsindia.org/portfolio/partnering-to-strengthen-climate-resilience/) - SELCO Foundation (Supply): Develops sustainable energy and cooling for underserved communities, including thermally comfortable buildings, cool roofs and decentralised cold storage. (https://selcofoundation.org/built-environments/) - HeatWatch India (Supply): Focuses on heat and worker protection through research, heat exposure mapping, practical education and a public directory of cooling centres. (https://cooling-centres.heatwatch.in/about) - Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group (Supply): Works with waste picker communities on heat awareness, hotspot mapping and practical ways to cut heat exposure at home and at work. (https://www.chintan-india.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/HEAT-SOLUTIONS-FOR-WEB-final.pdf) - Hasiru Dala (Demand): Works with waste workers in Bengaluru to document heat-related health and income losses and press for water, shade, safer housing and workplace protection. (https://hasirudala.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/HW-HD-report_final.pdf) - Janpahal (Demand): Works with informal worker organisations and WIEGO on heat protection, worker education and policy dialogue for street vendors. (https://www.wiego.org/advocacy-worker-education-resources/working-under-heat-delhi/) - Jan Sahas (Supply): Works with migrant and informal workers on community-led heat resilience, and funds premiums for a temperature-triggered heat cover with Go Digit and K.M. Dastur. (https://indiaclimatecollaborative.org/blog/centering-workers-in-heat-resilience-from-lived-experience-to-systemic-action) - Save the Children International (Supply): Addresses heat risks to children through awareness, drinking water and advocacy on education and health, including heat-related school closures in Bangladesh. (https://www.savethechildren.net/news/heat-stricken-bangladesh-extends-school-closures) - Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) (Supply): Sends heat-health advisories by SMS to farmers, farm labourers and rural job-scheme workers in drought-prone Marathwada, built with the India Meteorological Department, alongside its watershed work. (https://cdkn.org/story/heat-health-advisories-rural-india-learning-during-pandemic-era) - BRAC (Supply): In Bangladesh’s April 2024 heat emergency, mobilised 50,000 community health workers to raise awareness, with a focus on families with pregnant women, and is piloting heat-reduction ideas in urban informal settlements. (https://bracusa.org/bangladesh_heat_emergency/) - HelpAge International (Supply): Works with older people’s associations in Bangladesh and Pakistan on disaster risk, including heatwaves and early warning, and speaks up for older farm labourers and street vendors exposed to heat. (https://helpage.org/tags/bangladesh) - Centre for Disability in Development (CDD), with CBM (Supply): Runs disability-inclusive disaster risk and climate adaptation in Bangladesh, including coastal sub-districts, where heatwaves are among the hazards. A heat-specific programme is not confirmed. (https://www.cbm.org/) - Rujak Center for Urban Studies (Supply): Leads Be-Housing research on urban-poor housing and heat adaptation. (https://rujak.org) - Kota Kita Foundation (Supply): Partners in Be-Housing research on urban-poor settlements and heat adaptation. (https://kotakita.org) - Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust (Demand): Participated in the Varanasi heat action plan launch. (https://shrikashivishwanath.org) - HomeNet South Asia (Demand): Brings home-based-worker perspectives to heat and climate policy dialogue. (https://hnsatrust.org/) - British Red Cross (Supply): Supported research and preparation for Dhangadhi’s heat action plan. (https://www.redcross.org.uk) - American Red Cross (Supply): Collaborated in the Bangladesh/Nepal heat lived-experience study. (https://www.redcross.org) - People in Need (Supply): Led RAIN heat early action using forecasts and locally delivered protection. (https://www.peopleinneed.net) - DanChurchAid (Supply): Co-led RAIN, which activated heat early-action procedures in Nepal. (https://www.danchurchaid.org) - Community Self Reliance Centre (Supply): Named implementing partner in RAIN, which activated heat early-action procedures. (https://csrcnepal.org) - Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD) (Supply): Named implementing partner in RAIN, which activated heat early-action procedures. (https://libird.org) - Youth Innovation Lab (Supply): Named implementing partner in RAIN, which activated heat early-action procedures. (https://youthinnovationlab.org) - Sindh Integrated Emergency and Health Services (Supply): Participated in Sindh’s heat-management coordination consultation. (https://siehs.org) - Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (Supply): Convened heat-stress and air-quality response discussions. (https://www.redcross.lk) - Médecins Sans Frontières: South Asia (Supply): Contributed to Sri Lanka’s heat-stress and air-quality coordination session. (https://msfsouthasia.org) - StreetNet International (Demand): Brings street-vendor perspectives to heat and climate policy dialogue. (https://streetnet.org.za) - Bengaluru Sustainability Forum (Platform): Supports a domestic-worker heat research and training project. (https://www.bengalurusustainabilityforum.org) - HeatWatch Foundation (Supply): Develops domestic-worker heat research, training and public storytelling. (https://www.heatwatch.in) - HelpAge India (Supply): Researches older people’s heat exposure, housing and care barriers. (https://www.helpageindia.org) - Dawat-e-Islami: FGRF (Supply): Reports volunteer-run heat relief camps offering drinking water and related support. (https://www.dawateislami.net) - Build Change (Supply): Pairs heat-resilient housing retrofits with microfinance and technical support. (https://buildchange.org) - Disability Rights UK (Demand): Launched an accessible survey on disabled people’s experiences of heatwaves. (https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org) ### Cooling solutions - CLASP (Supply): Helps governments and manufacturers make cooling appliances more efficient and affordable, including efficient fans in India. (https://www.clasp.ngo/about/insights/making-efficient-affordable-fans-the-standard-in-india/) - RMI (Supply): Advances efficient air conditioning, passive cooling and reflective roofs through research, field demonstrations and innovation support. (https://rmi.org/resources/reshaping-the-future-of-heating-and-cooling/) - Cool Roof Rating Council (Platform): Provides technical guidance on reflective roofs, walls and pavements that reduce building heat. (https://coolroofs.org/news/new-cool-surfaces-toolkit-site-provides-public-with-resources-and-knowledge-base) - Ecozen (Supply): Makes solar-powered cold rooms that help farmers keep produce from spoiling where power is unreliable. (https://www.ecozensolutions.com/ecofrost) - Tarutium Global Consulting (formerly TARU Leading Edge) (Supply): Provides climate risk and resilience planning, including urban heat assessment and heatwave management guidance. (https://tarutium.com/hydro-meteorological-resilient-action-plans/) - Alluvium (Supply): Partners in HAMR urban-heat adaptation research. (https://alluviumconsulting.com.au/) - cBalance (Supply): Co-designed and installed low-carbon cooling with women in low-income neighbourhoods. (https://cbalance.in) - SP Group (Supply): Operates district and residential centralised cooling and develops a Bangkok system. (https://www.spgroup.com.sg) - Banpu NEXT (Supply): Partners with SP Group on Bangkok district cooling. (https://www.banpunext.co.th) - Singapore Green Building Council (Supply): Co-leads Go25 to reduce building overcooling. (https://www.sgbc.sg) - Daikin (Supply): Co-developed a winning climate-friendly cooling prototype. (https://www.daikin.com) - Gree Electric Appliances (Supply): Co-developed a winning climate-friendly cooling prototype. (https://global.gree.com) - Nikken Sekkei (Supply): Partnered on a winning climate-friendly cooling prototype tested in India. (https://www.nikken.co.jp) - Godrej Enterprises: Appliances (Supply): Developed a finalist cooling prototype with an Indian technology partner. (https://www.godrejenterprises.com) - A.T.E. Enterprises (Supply): Partnered in Godrej’s cooling-prize finalist team. (https://www.ategroup.com) - Indian Hotels Company Limited (Demand): Named adopter or technology partner selected for IFC’s hotel space-cooling pilots. (https://www.ihcltata.com) - BSES Delhi distribution utilities (Supply): Report summer grid preparedness, critical-facility protection and efficient-appliance replacement. (https://www.bsesdelhi.com) - Nippon Paint India (Supply): Lists a reflective roof-coating product for the Indian market. (https://nipponpaint.co.in) ### Insurance and finance - Atlantic Council Climate Resilience Center (formerly Arsht-Rock) (Platform): Places Chief Heat Officers in cities, and with SEWA tested the world’s first parametric insurance for extreme heat in 2023. (https://onebillionresilient.org/project/extreme-heat-protection-initiative/) - Swiss Re (Supply): Designed heat insurance for SEWA members with payout triggers set for each of 23 locations’ own climate. (https://www.swissre.com/our-business/public-sector-solutions/insights/parametric-structure-for-sewa-in-south-east-asia.html) - IBISA (Supply): Launched a parametric heat-index product in Ahmedabad in 2024 that pays women workers when heat cuts their working hours, and Ushma Kavach, which protects dairy farmers against heat-stress losses. (https://www.icmif.org/news_story/ibisa-launches-a-new-parametric-heat-index-product-in-india-to-protect-women-workers-from-heat-induced-wage-losses/) - ICICI Lombard (Supply): Carries the risk on heat insurance for women workers in India, including IBISA’s heat-index product. (https://www.icmif.org/news_story/ibisa-launches-a-new-parametric-heat-index-product-in-india-to-protect-women-workers-from-heat-induced-wage-losses/) - Howden (Supply): Insurance broker working on parametric heat insurance and catastrophe bonds that give local governments and relief organisations money to act during heatwaves. (https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/news-insights/article-name/parametric-insurance-for-extreme-heat-protecting-people-in-a-warming-world) - Climate Policy Initiative (Supply): Analyses how heat resilience in India is financed, and where money is missing. (https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/financing-indias-heat-resilience/) - International Finance Corporation (IFC) (Supply): Supports private investment in sustainable cooling, including district cooling, cooling-as-a-service and temperature-controlled food supply chains. (https://www.ifc.org/en/what-we-do/programs-projects/sustainable-cooling) - Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE) (Supply): Develops financing models for sustainable cooling, such as cooling-as-a-service, where customers pay for cooling and providers own and maintain the equipment. (https://energy-base.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/10.CaaS_Instrument-Analysis-Paper_FINAL_09.17.19.pdf) - Blue Marble (Supply): Designs insurance for underserved communities, including the extreme heat income insurance pilot developed with SEWA and Arsht-Rock in India. (https://www.transre.com/what-we-do/blue-marble-microinsurance/) - CelsiusPro Group, including Global Parametrics (Supply): Develops parametric protection; Global Parametrics manages Natural Disaster Fund risk capacity used for heat insurance for women informal workers in India. (https://www.celsiuspro.com/news-1/livestream-replay-uninsurable-how-the-natural-disaster-fund-contributes-to-close-the-protection-gap) - K.M. Dastur Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers (Supply): Indian broker and partner, with Go Digit and Jan Sahas, in a temperature-triggered heat cover that pays migrant workers automatically. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/godigit_digitinsurance-heatinsurance-parametricinsurance-activity-7341758644490764288-StEd) - Go Digit General Insurance (Supply): Indian insurer offering temperature-triggered heat cover for workers, with Jan Sahas and K.M. Dastur, and heat protection with Mahila Housing Trust. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/godigit_digitinsurance-heatinsurance-parametricinsurance-activity-7341758644490764288-StEd) - WTW (Willis) (Supply): Structures parametric programmes in Asia-Pacific that pay on defined triggers. Heat is a stated application; no specific Asian heat programme is documented yet. (https://www.wtwco.com/en-hk/solutions/services/parametric-solutions) - Aon (Supply): Advises on parametric risk transfer, including temperature-triggered cover for heat delays and losses. Its published heat example is outside Asia. (https://www.aon.com/en/insights/articles/parametric-can-help-mitigate-extreme-heat-risks-for-contractors-in-emea) - Marsh (Supply): Structures parametric cover in Asia using temperature, rainfall and water triggers, for example for data-centre disruption. (https://www.marsh.com/th/en/services/risk-consulting/insights/el-nino-climate-data-centre-business-interruption-asia.html) - Munich Re (Supply): Reinsurer offering parametric and weather-risk solutions, including for heat and water stress affecting industry. (https://www.munichre.com/en/solutions/for-industry-clients/parametric-solutions.html) - Hannover Re (Supply): Reinsurer that supports the Natural Disaster Fund and reports developing flood and heatwave covers. (https://www.hannover-re.com/1979241/sustainability-report-2022.pdf) - SCOR (Supply): Reinsurer that helped develop Heat Stress Protect for dairy income; that heat case is outside Asia. (https://www.scor.com/en/news/launch-heat-stress-protect-insurance-protect-dairy-income-climate-change) - General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) (Supply): India’s state reinsurer, backing crop and weather-based insurance schemes. A heat-income product is not confirmed. (https://www.gicre.in/en/business) - HDFC ERGO General Insurance (Supply): Indian insurer with weather-index cover that uses rainfall and temperature indices. A worker heat-income product is not confirmed. (https://www.hdfcergo.com/commercial-insurance/weather-insurance) - AXA Climate (Supply): Combines parametric insurance with climate science and adaptation advice, with teams in New Delhi, Hong Kong and Shanghai. A worker heat programme is not confirmed. (https://www.axa.com/commitments/axa-climate) - MSIG (Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance) (Supply): Offers parametric drought cover for farmers in Vietnam, powered by Hillridge, and has weather-index cover that includes heat stress in Australia. (https://www.msig-asia.com/sustainability) - Tokio Marine Group (Supply): Japanese insurer supporting disaster risk schemes and parametric payouts. A heat-specific product is not confirmed. (https://www.tokiomarinehd.com/en/news_insights/ni42.html) - Generali Global Corporate & Commercial (Supply): Provides underwriting capacity for parametric climate cover with Descartes. A specific Asian heat offering is not established. (https://www.generaliglobalcorporate.com/media/press-releases/all/2026/Descartes-and-Generali-Global-Corporate-Commercial-renew-long-term-strategic-partnership-to-reinforce-their-global-leadership-in-parametric-insurance.html) - Descartes Underwriting (Supply): Parametric underwriter with explicit extreme-temperature cover for companies and public bodies. (https://descartesunderwriting.com/solutions/extreme-temperatures) - Arbol (Supply): Builds parametric temperature and dairy heat-stress products; its high-temperature cover is US-focused. (https://www.arbol.io/products/temperature-risk-solutions) - Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS) (Supply): India-based climate risk specialist whose platform designs and runs parametric products with temperature triggers. A worker heat programme is not confirmed. (https://wrmsglobal.com/securisk/) - Hillridge Technology (Supply): Connects farmers with weather-index underwriters, including high-temperature cover; powers MSIG’s drought cover in Vietnam. (https://www.hillridge.com.au/faqs) - Raincoat (Supply): Climate insurance platform for event-based protection. A heat product is not confirmed. (https://www.raincoat.com/climate-insurance-101) - Pula (Supply): Agricultural insurance specialist working across Africa and Asia, including index-based products. A standalone heat product is not confirmed. (https://www.pula-advisors.com/productsandservices) - OKO (Supply): Crop insurance technology using satellite weather data and mobile channels, mainly in Africa. A heat product is not confirmed. (https://oko.finance/products/) - ACRE Africa (Supply): Develops index microinsurance and climate information for smallholder farmers in Africa. A heat product is not confirmed. (https://www.acreafrica.com/downloads/acre-africa-profile.pdf) - FloodFlash (Supply): Parametric flood specialist using property-level sensors. No heat product identified; listed as a model of sensor-triggered cover. (https://floodflash.co/parametric-underwriting-at-floodflash/) - SEADRIF Insurance Company (Supply): Announced a regional extreme-heat insurance accelerator with HERA. (https://seadrif.org) - ICICI Lombard General Insurance (Supply): Acts as primary insurer for SEWA’s parametric heat protection. (https://www.icicilombard.com) - StepChange (Supply): Received an announced grant for heat-risk data and SME adaptation-finance pilots in South Asia. (https://www.stepchange.earth) - African Risk Capacity Limited (Supply): Received an announced grant to pilot parametric heat protection within social transfers in Malawi. (https://www.arc.int) - Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (Platform): Co-organises training connecting extreme heat risk and urban finance. (https://citiesclimatefinance.org) ### Banks, regulators and microfinance - Monetary Authority of Singapore (Platform): Its 2020 environmental risk guidelines expect banks to assess physical climate risk, including through scenario analysis and stress tests. Its Singapore-Asia Taxonomy (2023) covers emission cuts only, so there are no criteria yet for finance that helps people adapt to heat. (https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2023/mas-launches-worlds-first-multi-sector-transition-taxonomy) - Bank of Thailand (Platform): A 2023 policy statement asks banks to build environmental and climate risk into governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure. It has worked with the World Bank on assessing physical climate risk in Thai banks’ loan books. (https://www.bot.or.th/en/financial-innovation/sustainable-finance/green/FIPCS-internalizing_environmental_and_climate_change.html) - Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Financial Services Authority), Indonesia (Platform): Its climate risk guideline for banks (2024, refined in 2026) includes data on Indonesia’s physical climate hazards. A 2022 rule lets banks restructure loans for borrowers in areas it designates as disaster-hit: after the 2025 Sumatra floods, Rp12.58 trillion for 237,083 borrowers. Heat has not yet been designated. (https://ojk.go.id/en/Publikasi/Roadmap-dan-Pedoman/Perbankan/Pages/The-2026-Banking-Climate-Risk-Management-and-Scenario-Analysis-CRMS-Guideline.aspx) - Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Platform): Since 2021, banks must check whether a borrower’s collateral or income is exposed to climate hazards. In areas under a state of calamity, banks can give borrowers up to six months’ grace with no interest on interest or penalties, longer for farm loans. It also eased rules for lenders in drought-hit areas during the 2015–16 El Niño. (https://www.philstar.com/business/2025/10/27/2482726/bsp-expands-calamity-relief-banks-borrowers) - State Bank of Vietnam (Platform): Requires banks to assess environmental risk before lending to projects (since 2023). After Typhoon Yagi in 2024, it let lenders reschedule repayments for affected borrowers across 26 provinces, with final repayment allowed until the end of 2027. (https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1688781/banks-allowed-to-extend-debt-repayment-for-typhoon-yagi-affected-customers-to-2027.html) - Bangladesh Bank (Platform): Steers credit to farmers after climate shocks through its refinancing schemes. In June 2026 it told banks to prioritise farmers hit by heavy rain. Heat is not yet among the shocks that trigger this support. (https://www.bssnews.net/news/391823) - Nepal Rastra Bank (Platform): Sets environmental and social risk rules for banks (2018), and since October 2024 a green finance taxonomy that sorts lending into green, amber and red. (https://www.nrb.org.np/) - Reserve Bank of India (Platform): Its 2018 directions let banks reschedule loans and pause repayments in areas hit by notified calamities, which in India now include heatwaves. A 2024 draft framework would require banks to disclose their climate-related financial risks. (https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=10478) - Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (Platform): A network of financial regulators and banking associations from emerging markets, supported by IFC. Its policy library holds the climate and environmental risk rules of central banks across South and Southeast Asia. (https://www.sbfnetwork.org/) - KOMIDA, with Build Change (Indonesia) (Supply): One of Indonesia’s largest microfinance institutions, piloting small home-improvement loans for climate adaptation with Build Change, aimed at women earning under US$5 a day and paired with digital advice. (https://www.globalinnovation.fund/investments/build-change-2) - Center for Financial Inclusion (Supply): Researches how small loans and parametric insurance can help low-income people get through heatwaves. (https://centerforfinancialinclusion.org/inclusive-finance-and-extreme-heat-how-small-loans-and-parametric-insurance-can-help-vulnerable-populations-manage-through-deadly-heat-waves) - KOMIDA (Supply): Offers incremental housing adaptation loans with heat retrofit support. (https://mitradhuafa.com) ### Philanthropy and funders - Prudence Foundation (Supply): Funds heat-health early warnings for women informal workers in India, sent mainly over WhatsApp and reaching 50,000 women, and research with the Red Cross Red Crescent on heat, humidity and health. (https://www.prudentialplc.com/en/newsroom/company-news/2024/prudential-advances-climate-resilience-efforts-in-asia-and-africa-with-us-million-investment-to-address-impacts-of-climate-change-on-health/) - Philanthropy Asia Alliance (Platform): Backs the Southeast Asia Heat Health Hub, the first regional hub of the Global Heat Health Information Network, and convenes funders on heat resilience. (https://www.eco-business.com/press-releases/philanthropy-asia-alliance-supports-southeast-asia-heat-health-hub-to-scale-coordinated-action-on-extreme-heat/) - Temasek Trust (through Temasek Foundation) (Supply): Its Liveability Challenge funds cooling innovations for extreme heat, such as passive cooling paints. (https://www.temasektrust.org.sg/what-we-do/impact-hub/article-details/the-liveability-challenge-2025-passive-cooling-hydrogen-storage-innovations) - Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies (Supply): Funds heat work in India, including Prayas Energy and Health Group’s work with street vendors and construction workers, and CEEW’s district heat risk assessment. (https://rohininilekaniphilanthropies.org/resources/alliance-magazine-a-heat-justice-compass-for-philanthropic-action/) - HT Parekh Foundation (Supply): Its flagship ReVIVE programme tackles urban heat in India’s smaller cities through research, cooling solutions, demonstration projects and policy advocacy. (https://indiaclimatecollaborative.org/blog/climate-funder-ht-parekh-foundation-on-heat) - Rainmatter Foundation (Supply): Funds climate and environment work in India. Its partners’ heat work includes heatwave workshops that help journalists and health experts report on extreme heat. (https://rainmatter.org/blog/tag/heat/) - Climate & Health Funders Coalition (Platform): Launched at COP30 with US$300 million in initial funding. Extreme heat is a core priority. Members include CIFF, the Gates Foundation, Philanthropy Asia Alliance, the Rockefeller Foundation and Wellcome. (https://wellcome.org/engagement-and-advocacy/advocacy-and-partnerships/climate-health-funders-coalition) - Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (Supply): A member of the Climate & Health Funders Coalition, focused on the growing danger extreme heat poses to pregnant mothers, infants and children. (https://climateworks.org/press-release/statement-on-the-united-nations-secretary-generals-call-to-action-for-extreme-heat/) - ClimateWorks Foundation (Supply): Its Adaptation & Resilience Fund made extreme heat its first focus, awarding US$9.3 million for parametric insurance, adaptive social protection, heat action plans and early warnings. (https://www.climateworks.org/blog/meet-the-grantees-from-our-global-call-for-extreme-heat-solutions/) - The Rockefeller Foundation (Supply): Funds the South Asia Climate–Health Desk with Wellcome and a heat research consortium at IISER Pune, and supported C40’s Cool Cities Accelerator. (https://wmo.int/node/38332) - Wellcome (Supply): Funds research on extreme heat and health: £17.5 million to test heat adaptations such as cool roofs, with a trial site in India; £17 million across nine projects on heat in pregnancy and early childhood; and work on heat and mental health. With The Rockefeller Foundation it committed US$11.5 million to the WHO–WMO Climate and Health Joint Programme. (https://wellcome.org/our-priorities/climate-and-health/extreme-heat) - Laudes Foundation (Supply): Funds a three-year project with ICCCAD that builds Bangladeshi garment workers’ capacity on climate change, including heat stress, and on labour rights. (https://icccad.net/programmes/just-transition/capacitating-garment-workers/) - International Development Research Centre (IDRC) (Supply): Funds applied heat research, including gender-sensitive heat action planning in India and studies of heat’s impact on informal workers. (https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/what-we-do/projects-we-support/project/climate-adaptive-action-plans-manage-heat-stress-indian) - IKEA Foundation (Supply): Supports solar-powered cooling that helps farmers preserve food and reduce waste as extreme heat becomes more common. (https://www.ikeafoundation.org/campaign-26) - Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) (Supply): Supports inclusive financial services, including income protection against extreme heat and rainfall for women in India’s informal sector. (https://www.scbf.ch/projects?665a6c47_page=2) - Howden Foundation (Supply): Funds HERA’s work in India combining early warnings, direct cash and parametric insurance for women exposed to extreme heat. (https://www.howdenfoundation.com/news/frontline-voices-her-resilience-india) - India Climate Collaborative (Platform): Connects philanthropy, researchers and practitioners on heat resilience, sharing evidence on implementation gaps, worker protection and financing. (https://indiaclimatecollaborative.org/blog/mumbai-climate-week-through-conversations-on-urban-resilience) - Clean Cooling Collaborative (ClimateWorks Foundation) (Platform): Mobilises philanthropy for efficient, climate-friendly cooling, including access to cooling and passive design. (https://www.cleancoolingcollaborative.org/) - Novo Nordisk Foundation (Supply): Its Nexa Lighthouse call funds protection from heat for people with heart and metabolic diseases in South Asia (open until 17 November 2026), and a 2027 challenge programme on heat and hypertension. (https://novonordiskfonden.dk/en/grant/nexa-lighthouse-call-protecting-people-with-cardiometabolic-diseases-from-the-impacts-of-heat-in-south-asia/) - EarthON Foundation (Supply): Its Greenovation challenge gives awards to Indian ventures for cool roofs, passive and community cooling, and heat-safe livelihoods. (https://earthonfoundation.org/greenovation-urban-climate-resilience-challenge/) - Ramboll Foundation (Supply): Funds urban heat tools and research, including a DKK 1.18 million grant for an urban heat and flooding tool and radiant-cooling research. Funding for Asian applicants is not confirmed. (https://www.ramboll.com/news/unep-cop30-presidency-and-ramboll-partner-to-tackle-the-threat-of-urban-heating) - National Research Foundation, Singapore (Supply): Funds Project HeatSafe, which studies heat, health and productivity among workers in Singapore and partner countries including Vietnam and Cambodia, and Cooling Singapore. (https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) - Research Grants Council, Hong Kong (Supply): Has funded community heat-risk planning and, in 2025, real-time heat-health warnings for older adults in Hong Kong. (https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/research/SED/Projects/Research_b2_health%20risk.html) - Research Council of Norway (Supply): Co-funds COPE, a research project building early warnings for combined heat and air pollution in Delhi and Kolkata. (https://www.cicero.oslo.no/en/articles/will-develop-advanced-early-warning-and-decision-support-systems-for-heat-and-air-pollution-delhi-and-kolkata) - U.S. National Science Foundation (Supply): A named co-funder of COPE, the four-year heat and air-pollution early warning research project in Delhi and Kolkata. (https://www.cicero.oslo.no/en/articles/will-develop-advanced-early-warning-and-decision-support-systems-for-heat-and-air-pollution-delhi-and-kolkata) - Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) (Supply): Funds regional research and capacity building, including a US$40,000 grant for gender-sensitive heat action policies in South Asia and newer work on urban heat in Southeast Asian cities. (https://www.apn-gcr.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/CBA2021-07SY-Magotra-Final-Report-_APN.docx-1.pdf) - National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (Supply): Funds HEAT-PROTECT in Andhra Pradesh (2023–2027), building heat adaptation into primary healthcare for vulnerable groups. (https://ghrcentre-ncdec.nihr.ac.uk/project/heat-exposure-adaptation-tools-protecting-vulnerable-g/) - Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) (Supply): Funds medical research including a 2025 study of heat-health risk communication among construction workers, manual labourers and street vendors. (https://www.icmr.gov.in/) - Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (Supply): Runs a joint 2026 call with India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences on mountain hazards that explicitly covers heatwaves and their links to forests and horticulture. (https://www.snf.ch/media/en/sMJbvJyKnKsYuNTK/call_doc_SNSF-MoES_2026.pdf) - Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India (Supply): Funds the Indian side of the 2026 Indo-Swiss mountain-hazards research call, which includes how heatwaves are changing. (https://www.snf.ch/media/en/sMJbvJyKnKsYuNTK/call_doc_SNSF-MoES_2026.pdf) - Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (Supply): Funds research on low-energy cooling and better building envelopes, and backed the Global Cooling Prize, whose winners were announced in 2021. (https://dst.gov.in/building-energy-efficiency-research-initiative-beri) - Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (Supply): Funded heat-resistant soybean breeding at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (2022–2025), with a demonstration running to 2027. (https://web.uaf.edu.pk/UploadFiles/UAFAnualReport/4381f032-04fb-4a85-9f2d-8e0adc426a54.pdf) - The Lemelson Foundation (Supply): Supported the Global Cooling Prize, which in 2021 rewarded room air conditioners with far lower climate impact, aimed first at India. (https://www.lemelson.org/winners-of-the-global-cooling-prize-announced/) - The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (Supply): Funds the three-year Jockey Club Beat the Heat project (from 2024), which assesses risk and gives personal protection and community support to vulnerable older people in Hong Kong. (https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/press/jockey-club-beat-the-heat-project-helps-elderly-stay-safe-and-healthy-during-extreme-heat/) - Poul Due Jensen Foundation (Grundfos Foundation) (Supply): Funds water access, including €120,000 for urban poor communities in the Philippines. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.pdjf.dk/en/article/new-community-engagement-grants-march-2025/) - Robert Bosch Stiftung (Supply): Supports quick, community-led adaptation grants through the Climate Communities Adaptation Facility, and work on climate and migration. Heat-specific funding in Asia is not confirmed. (https://bosch-stiftung.de/en/story/climate-mobility-times-global-upheaval) - A.T.E. Chandra Foundation (Supply): Funds the revival of village waterbodies with communities, NGOs and government, starting in drought-hit Marathwada and now in 11 Indian states. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.atecf.org/water-and-agriculture) - DCM Shriram Foundation (Supply): Funds watershed work in Rajasthan with Tarun Bharat Sangh and an AgWater challenge on farm water use and farmer resilience. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.dcmshriramfoundation.org/programs/khushali-paryavaran) - Cipla Foundation (Supply): Funds watershed partnerships with MYRADA and BAIF in five Indian states, with water-user groups that maintain the structures. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.cipla.com/csr/cipla-foundation/environmental-sustainability.html) - Dharampal Satyapal Limited (DS Group) CSR (Supply): Funds Water Economic Zones in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh through local partners. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.dsgroup.com/front/img/disclosures/List-of-Projects/List%20of%20Projects%202025-26.pdf) - HDFC Life (Swabhimaan CSR) (Supply): Funds city forests and waterbody revival in Sikkim, Maharashtra and Gujarat alongside livelihoods and health work. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.hdfclife.com/hdfc-careers/csr.html) - CIMB Foundation (Supply): Gives grants to registered organisations working with Malaysian communities, including a gravity-fed water programme in Sabah; applications are accepted October to December. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.cimbfoundation.com/collaborate-with-us/grant-application-form.html) - Yayasan PETRONAS (Supply): Funds community-based disaster risk management in Malaysia through implementing partners. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.yayasanpetronas.com.my/request-for-proposal-community-based-disaster-risk-management-cbdrm/) - Nusantara Fund (Dana Nusantara) (Supply): Funds Indigenous peoples and local communities in Indonesia directly, such as protecting water sources in Central Sulawesi. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://nusantarafund.org/en/program/mosintuwu-community/) - Women’s Fund Asia (Supply): Gives flexible and core grants to women-led and feminist groups in 22 Asian countries and territories, covering labour rights, environmental justice and women-led climate adaptation. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.womensfundasia.org/strengthening-feminist-movements/) - Tewa, Nepal Women’s Fund (Supply): Makes small grants to grassroots women’s groups in Nepal; one won municipal funding for irrigation after training on climate budgets. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://annualreport.bothends.org/nepalese-women-lead-local-advocacy-on-climate-change/) - Mama Cash (Supply): A participatory funder of feminist movements and a member of GAGGA, which gives core, multi-year funding to women-led community groups, including in Nepal, India and Indonesia. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.mamacash.org/resources/our-agenda-at-cop30-scaling-up-funding-for-feminist-locally-led-adaptation/) - Both ENDS (Supply): Supports environmental-justice partners, including grants for local climate governance and gender budgeting in Nepal. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://prc.org.np/publications/) - Global Fund for Community Foundations (Supply): Funds community philanthropy and local funds in India, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia, including climate resilience. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/what-we-do/grants/grants-awarded/) - DOEN Foundation (Supply): Co-funded the 2022 Global LEAP Off-Grid Cold Chain Challenge, which included Indian finalists keeping produce cool off the grid. (https://efficiencyforaccess.org/updates/global-leap-awards-announces-winners-and-finalists-of-the-2022-off-grid-cold-chain-challenge/) - Good Energies Foundation (Supply): Co-funded the 2022 Global LEAP Off-Grid Cold Chain Challenge, which included Indian finalists keeping produce cool off the grid. (https://efficiencyforaccess.org/updates/global-leap-awards-announces-winners-and-finalists-of-the-2022-off-grid-cold-chain-challenge/) - Henry Luce Foundation (Supply): Gave US$945,000 in 2022 for research on vulnerable deltas in Southeast Asia: climate, water pollution and social change. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://hluce.org/new-lucesea-grants-address-growing-impact-climate-change-and-importance-community-histories/) - MetLife Foundation (Supply): Gave US$120,000 to WWF Nepal’s JEEWAN project in Bardiya, combining new livelihoods with nature-based flood protection. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.metlife.com.np/content/dam/metlifecom/np/homepage/en/about-metlife/media-downloads/pres-release/press-articles/MetLife_Foundation_Supports_WWF_JEEWAN_Project.pdf) - Stone Family Foundation (Supply): Finances household water services in Cambodia, with grants, loans and technical support for water operators. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.stonefamilyfoundation.org.uk/water-to-the-home/who-we-work-with/) - The Waterloo Foundation (Supply): Funds reliable safe water in Nepal’s schools and the upkeep of water services. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://waterloofoundation.org.uk/world-development-water-and-sanitation-small-projects-supported/) - Fondation SUEZ (Supply): Funds access to water, sanitation and hygiene, with India, Bangladesh and the Philippines among eligible countries. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://56q2bbylxfnk.optimytool.com/fr) - Halton Foundation (Supply): Gives research grants of up to US$30,000 a year on indoor environments, explicitly including thermal comfort, with no geographic limits. The next round opens 1 July 2027. (https://foundation.halton.com/) - Takeda (Global CSR Program) (Supply): Funds climate-resilient health systems, including about US$7.1 million with UNOPS in Bangladesh and US$8.4 million with Vitamin Angels in Indonesia. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.takeda.com/newsroom/newsreleases/2025/takeda-employees-vote-csr-collaborations/) - Danone Communities (Supply): Invests patiently in affordable drinking-water enterprises such as Naandi Community Water Services in India. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.danonecommunities.com/naandi-community-water-services/) - Fondation Botnar (Supply): Funds Urban Futures, linking young people’s wellbeing and climate-resilient food systems in intermediary cities, including in Indonesia. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.fondationbotnar.org/project/urban-futures/) - OPEC Fund for International Development (Supply): Lends and gives technical assistance for water security and services in Asia, including US$100 million for water security in Sri Lanka in 2025. Heat-specific funding is not confirmed. (https://www.adb.org/who-we-are/partners/ofid/overview) - Tata Trusts (Supply): Supports climate-smart Patan heat protection with women’s community groups. (https://www.tatatrusts.org) - Global Resilience Partnership (Platform): Supported MHT’s heat-inclusive community resilience programme in South Asia. (https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org) - Ashden (Supply): Funded community-designed cooling through its Fair Cooling Fund. (https://ashden.org) - H T Parekh Foundation (Supply): Supports heat intelligence and co-produced an urban-heat landscape report. (https://www.htparekhfoundation.com) - UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Supply): Funds the RAIN programme that activated heat early action in Nepal. (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office) - Global Environment Facility (Supply): Backs the Nature for Cooling Challenge through a grant. (https://www.thegef.org) ## Extreme heat in twelve Asian cities What extreme heat is doing in 12 Asian cities: whether each has a heat plan, the vicious cycles the evidence ties to it, who is hit hardest and who is already at work. ### Singapore, Singapore A city-state with hot nights, dense towers and an early national heat stress advisory. Heat action plan (Heat plan in force): Singapore launched a national Heat Stress Advisory in July 2023. It rates heat stress as low, moderate or high from the wet-bulb globe temperature, and tells people what to do at each level. Sources: Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, 2023 https://mse.gov.sg/latest-news/press-release-heat-stress-advisory - The sleepless-nights loop: Singapore has averaged 76 warm nights a year over four decades; by 2100 they could come on most nights. - The cooling trap: The commercial centre has measured up to about 7 °C warmer than the outskirts on calm, clear nights. - The dying-green loop: Among the cities where the most urban tree species already face temperatures beyond their range. - The invisible-deaths loop: Workplace monitors found more heat stress than nearby weather stations reported. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; Older people Already at work: National Environment Agency, Singapore; Ministry of Manpower, Singapore; Singapore Management University, Urban Institute; National Research Foundation, Singapore; Monetary Authority of Singapore; C40 Cities Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/singapore/ ### Bangkok, Thailand A tropical megacity where heat costs lives, livelihoods and a share of the city’s economy. Heat action plan (Heat plan in force): For the 2026 hot season Bangkok opened 304 cooling centres in schools, health centres and district offices, under a heat management plan developed with the World Bank. Sources: Government of Thailand, 2026 https://thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/bangkok-launches-304-cooling-centers-to-combat-extreme-heat; World Bank, Shaping a Cooler Bangkok, 2025 https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/publication/shaping-a-cooler-bangkok-tackling-urban-heat-for-a-more-livable-city - The poverty–heat trap: Nearly 80% of informal workers surveyed cut their hours in the heat; 75% of home-based workers lost a day’s work a month to heat illness. - The reactive-spending loop: Heat deaths, about 593 a year, cost up to 0.7% of the city’s economy: more than its 2020 public health budget. - The sleepless-nights loop: One of the tropical cities whose nights stay hot. - The green-displacement loop: Fieldwork is tracing how green urban renewal affects the city’s lower-income residents. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: HomeNet Thailand; Bank of Thailand; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); Asian Development Bank Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/bangkok/ ### Hanoi, Vietnam A fast-growing northern capital whose power and water strain together in the heat. Heat action plan (No published city heat plan found): No city heat action plan found. From 2018 to 2021 the Viet Nam Red Cross ran an early-action plan for heatwaves in 15 of Hanoi’s wards, triggered by a heat-index forecast. Sources: Anticipation Hub https://www.anticipation-hub.org/experience/anticipatory-action-in-the-world/vietnam/fbf-ready-reducing-heat-waves-impacts-on-the-vulnerable-populations-of-hanoi - The energy–water loop: In May and June 2023 heat drove demand up as hydropower reservoirs ran low; blackouts in the north cost about US$1.4 billion. - The global cooling loop: Southeast Asia’s air conditioners could rise from 40 million to 300 million by 2040. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs Already at work: State Bank of Vietnam Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/hanoi/ ### Manila, Philippines A dense, humid metropolis where heat closes schools and pushes the heat index into danger. Heat action plan (Parts in place, no full plan found): In Metro Manila, Quezon City has set up a city Heat Action Team, named chief heat action officers and opened 32 libraries as cooling centres. Its full heat action plan is still being developed. Sources: Quezon City Government https://quezoncity.gov.ph/qc-beefs-up-action-vs-extreme-heat-designates-chief-heat-action-officers/ - The lost-schooling loop: In April 2024, 5,288 schools in the Philippines moved to remote learning, affecting more than 3.6 million students. - The cooling trap: One of the dense, high-rise city cores where air-conditioner waste heat adds to the night. - The farm-debt loop: Rice yields in the Philippines fell about 10% for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: PAGASA, Philippines; Department of Education, Philippines Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/manila/ ### Jakarta, Indonesia A sinking, sprawling capital in the country where half of Southeast Asia’s air conditioners could be. Heat action plan (Parts in place, no full plan found): No standalone heat action plan found. Jakarta’s Climate Action Plan 2021–2050 aims to reduce its vulnerability to extreme heat, and in October 2025 the governor told health facilities to prepare for heat illness. Sources: C40 Cities, 2025 https://www.c40.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RfP_RF_Jakarta.pdf; Antara, 2025 https://www.antaranews.com/berita/5178905/pramono-instruksikan-mitigasi-dampak-cuaca-panas-ekstrem-di-jakarta - The global cooling loop: Half of Southeast Asia’s projected 300 million air conditioners in 2040 could be in Indonesia. - The wildfire loop: Indonesia’s 2015 forest and peat fires cost an estimated US$16.1 billion. - The dying-green loop: Among the hot, fast-growing cities where urban trees are at risk. Who heat hits hardest: People in informal settlements; Workers in heat-exposed jobs Already at work: Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Financial Services Authority), Indonesia; KOMIDA, with Build Change (Indonesia); Nusantara Fund (Dana Nusantara) Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/jakarta/ ### Delhi, India A capital of extreme pre-monsoon heat, street trade and falling groundwater. Heat action plan (Heat plan in force): Delhi launched its 2025 Heat Action Plan in April 2025, with graded heat alerts, cooling shelters, 3,000 water points and heatstroke units in hospitals. Experts have recommended legal backing and dedicated funds to strengthen it. Sources: Business Today, 2025 https://www.businesstoday.in/amp/india/story/imd-predicts-heatwave-conditions-in-april-delhi-govt-launches-action-plan-472890-2025-04-21; Citizen Matters https://citizenmatters.in/city-buzz-five-things-you-must-know-about-the-delhi-heat-action-plan - The heat credit squeeze: Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in 2024, 80% saw fewer customers in heatwaves and 49% lost income. - The dying-green loop: New Delhi is among the cities where every urban tree species studied is at risk from rising heat. - The groundwater loop: North-west India (Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana) lost 109 km³ of groundwater in six years, mainly to irrigation. - The invisible-deaths loop: India confirmed 185 heatstroke deaths against 48,385 suspected cases in 2024, up to 28 July. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: National Disaster Management Authority, India; India Meteorological Department and IITM Pune; National Centre for Disease Control, India; Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); SEEDS; HeatWatch India Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/delhi/ ### Dhaka, Bangladesh One of the world’s densest cities, where heat costs workdays and fills tin-roofed homes. Heat action plan (Parts in place, no full plan found): Dhaka North City Corporation appointed Asia’s first Chief Heat Officer in 2023. No city heat action plan found yet. Sources: Arsht-Rock Resilience Center, 2023 https://onebillionresilient.org/2023/05/03/bushra-afreen-dhaka-chief-heat-officer/ - The poverty–heat trap: Heat-related illness cost Bangladesh 250 million workdays in 2024, worth up to US$1.78 billion. - The energy-poverty trap: Tin-roofed informal settlements trap heat for people who can’t afford to cool. - The displacement loop: Migrants land in settlements on the edges of the city, often in heat-trapping housing. - The lost-schooling loop: Bangladesh closed schools for about 33 million children in its April 2024 heatwave. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: Dhaka North City Corporation; Bangladesh Red Crescent Society; icddr,b; BRAC; Practical Action; Bangladesh Bank Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/dhaka/ ### Kathmandu, Nepal A valley city warming fast, below the Himalayan ice that feeds South Asia’s rivers. Heat action plan (No published city heat plan found): No city heat action plan found. Nepal adopted a national plan of action on heat waves in 2024, and Nepalgunj, in the plains, wrote the country’s first local heat action plan in 2023. Sources: Onlinekhabar, 2025 https://english.onlinekhabar.com/reassessing-nepals-heat-wave-response-lessons-from-2024-and-the-way-forward.html; Nepalgunj Heat Action Plan, 2023 https://preparecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Nepalgunj-Heat-Action-Plan-2023.pdf - The melting-ice loop: The Hindu Kush Himalaya’s glaciers lost ice 65% faster in the 2010s, and could lose 30–50% of their volume by 2100. - The medical-debt trap: In five cities in Nepal and Bangladesh, heat cut incomes and pushed some households towards high-interest loans. Who heat hits hardest: Women whose livelihoods are held back by unequal access; Older people Already at work: National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Nepal; Nepal Red Cross Society; Tewa, Nepal Women’s Fund; Nepal Rastra Bank; Practical Action Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/kathmandu/ ### Mumbai, India A coastal megacity where the nights are heating faster than the days. Heat action plan (Parts in place, no full plan found): Mumbai’s 2022 Climate Action Plan names urban heat as a priority, and the city is working with C40 on heat-health protocols for its hospitals. No standalone city heat action plan found. Sources: Citizen Matters https://citizenmatters.in/mcap-climate-change-heat-mumbai/; C40 Cities, 2026 https://www.c40.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/RfP-Heat-Health-protocols-for-Mumbai.pdf - The sleepless-nights loop: Mumbai gained 15 very warm nights a summer over the last decade. - The energy-poverty trap: Tin-roofed informal settlements trap heat for people who can’t afford to cool. - The invisible-deaths loop: Death certificates usually record the immediate cause, so heat as the trigger goes unrecorded. Who heat hits hardest: People in informal settlements; Workers in heat-exposed jobs Already at work: WRI India; C40 Cities; HDFC Life (Swabhimaan CSR); ICLEI South Asia Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/mumbai/ ### Ahmedabad, India Where South Asia’s first heat action plan began, and where its results were measured. Heat action plan (Heat plan in force): Ahmedabad launched South Asia’s first heat action plan in 2013, after a 2010 heatwave caused an estimated 1,344 excess deaths. An estimated 1,190 deaths a year were later avoided. Sources: Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/ - The overwhelmed-clinic loop: The plan prepared hospitals and warned the public before heat peaked. - The poverty–heat trap: Up to three-quarters of India’s workforce depends on heat-exposed work. - The invisible-deaths loop: As in most countries, heat deaths are hard to count, which makes the case for prevention harder to see. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, with IIPH Gandhinagar and NRDC; All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI); IBISA; C40 Cities; Heat Resilience Action (HERA), formerly Climate Resilience for All Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/ahmedabad/ ### Colombo, Sri Lanka A coastal capital where humid heat meets crowded markets, harbours and fish landing sites. Heat action plan (Parts in place, no full plan found): Colombo Municipal Council, with the Department of Meteorology and SLYCAN Trust, has worked on guidelines for a gender-sensitive heat action plan. The Department of Meteorology issues heat index advisories. No adopted city heat plan found yet. Sources: APN and SLYCAN Trust, 2022 https://www.apn-gcr.org/publication/colombo-municipal-council-sri-lanka-integrating-heat-stress-management-into-climate-policies-and-guidelines-for-gender-sensitive-heat-action-plans-in-sri-lanka/; News 1st, 2024 https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/03/04/heat-advisory-issued-by-sri-lanka-s-met-dept - The cooling trap: A University of Colombo study found a pronounced urban heat island, as green space gives way to concrete and asphalt. - The poverty–heat trap: Heat advisories ask people to work in the shade; market and fish workers who sell in the open often cannot. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; Coastal and riverine communities Already at work: Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN); World Meteorological Organization; UN ESCAP Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/colombo/ ### Phnom Penh, Cambodia A fast-growing capital of garment factories and metal roofs, where the hot season peaks before the rains. Heat action plan (No published city heat plan found): A proposal with the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology and Phnom Penh Capital Hall would develop a heat action plan for the city, with thresholds and response protocols. No adopted city heat plan found yet. Sources: National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development https://library.ncdd.gov.kh/detail/17224/download - The cooling trap: UN ESCAP projects that the urban heat island could add 2 °C to 7 °C on top of global warming in Phnom Penh. - The poverty–heat trap: At three garment factories, workers reporting heat symptoms rose from 68% in the cooler months to 88% in the hot months. - The lost-schooling loop: In the April 2024 heatwave, Cambodia shortened public school days by two hours. Who heat hits hardest: Workers in heat-exposed jobs; People in informal settlements Already at work: UN ESCAP; Asian Development Bank; World Bank Page: https://beattheheat.asia/cities/phnompenh/ ## Heatwaves that shaped South and Southeast Asia, 1998 to 2026 10 major heatwaves across South and Southeast Asia, from Odisha in 1998 to 2026: what happened, what it cost and what changed afterwards. Recorded deaths are a floor, not a total: many heat deaths are never counted as heat deaths. Where no solid count exists, the timeline says so. ### May 1998, Odisha, India: The heatwave that taught Odisha to plan Peak: Coastal Odisha, not known for extreme heat. Toll: 2,042 deaths from heatstroke recorded by hospitals. Heat struck a coastal state with little past experience of extreme heat, and hospitals counted more than two thousand heatstroke deaths in a single month. What changed: Odisha wrote its first heat action plan in 1999. The next year, recorded heat deaths fell to 91. Source: Down To Earth: how to fight heat wave the Odisha way https://www.downtoearth.org.in/environment/how-to-fight-heat-wave-the-odisha-way-49950 ### May–June 2003, Andhra Pradesh, India: Three weeks that killed more than 1,300 Peak: Weeks of heat across the state. Toll: 1,317 deaths in Andhra Pradesh in three weeks, as reported then. A long spell of heat before the monsoon killed more than 1,300 people in Andhra Pradesh in three weeks. What changed: The same region would be hit again, even harder, in 2015. Source: The Tribune, 8 June 2003 https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030608/main6.htm ### May 2010, Ahmedabad, India: The heatwave behind South Asia’s first city heat plan Peak: 46.8 °C. Toll: An estimated 1,344 excess deaths, 43% more than in the same weeks of 2009 and 2011. The toll was measured as excess deaths: the deaths above normal for those weeks, found by comparing death records with other years. What changed: In 2013 Ahmedabad launched South Asia’s first heat action plan: early warnings, prepared hospitals and outreach. An estimated 1,190 deaths a year were later avoided. Source: Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/ ### May–June 2015, India and Pakistan: South Asia’s deadliest recent heatwave Peak: 40–45 °C for weeks in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Toll: More than 2,500 deaths in India, mostly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and more than 1,100 in Pakistan, centred on Karachi. Heat swept India’s south-east in May, then struck Karachi in June. What changed: In the years after, Indian states and cities wrote dozens of heat action plans, and a 2023 review of 37 found that most had yet to secure funding or a vulnerability assessment. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica: India–Pakistan heat wave of 2015 https://www.britannica.com/print/article/2028529 Source: Centre for Policy Research, 2023: how is India adapting to heatwaves? https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/ ### April 2016, Thailand and mainland Southeast Asia: El Niño and warming break Southeast Asia’s records Peak: 44.6 °C at Mae Hong Son, Thailand’s highest ever at the time. Toll: No regional death count. A strong El Niño drove record heat across mainland Southeast Asia. Researchers found El Niño caused about half of the extra warmth and global warming about a third. What changed: The researchers found that since 1980 every April after an El Niño has set a new temperature record in the region. Source: NASA Earth Observatory, 2016 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=87981 Source: University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, on Thirumalai et al., Nature Communications, 2017 https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2017/06/scientists-unravel-how-el-nino-and-global-warming-combine-to-cause-record-breaking-heat-in-southeast-asia/ ### March–April 2022, India and Pakistan: The spring that came months too hot Peak: 49 °C in Pakistan; India’s hottest March in 122 years. Toll: At least 90 deaths reported. Heat arrived in March, before the wheat was ready. Yields fell by an estimated 10–35% in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and power cuts and forest fires followed. What changed: Scientists found climate change made it about 30 times more likely, and about 1 °C hotter. Source: World Meteorological Organization, 2022: climate change made the heatwave 30 times more likely https://public.wmo.int/node/14883 Source: Carbon Brief, 2022 https://www.carbonbrief.org/climate-change-made-india-and-pakistans-2022-early-heatwave-30-times-more-likely ### April 2023, Bangladesh, India, Laos and Thailand: Humid heat that was near impossible without climate change Peak: 45.4 °C at Tak, Thailand’s highest ever. Toll: No regional death count. The heat index passed the dangerous 41 °C mark across large parts of South and Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh and India such humid heat used to come less than once a century; it can now be expected about every five years. What changed: Scientists found it at least 30 times more likely because of climate change, and the heat in Laos and Thailand virtually impossible without it. Source: World Weather Attribution, 2023 https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/?p=1870 Source: Yale Environment 360, 2023 https://e360.yale.edu/digest/april-2023-heat-wave-india-thailand-climate-change ### April 2024, South and Southeast Asia: Asia’s hottest April: schools shut from Dhaka to Manila Peak: 48.2 °C at Chauk, Myanmar’s highest April temperature on record. Toll: At least 28 heat deaths reported in Bangladesh in April; likely an undercount. Bangladesh closed schools for about 33 million children and the Philippines moved 5,288 schools to remote learning. In South Asia, a 30-day heatwave like it became about 45 times more likely. What changed: Scientists found climate change made it about 1 °C hotter. Surges in heat deaths were also reported in Thailand and the Philippines. Source: World Weather Attribution, reported by Down To Earth, 2024 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/climate-change-responsible-for-over-80-of-temperature-rise-within-asia-last-month-the-hottest-april-ever-wwa-96153 Source: Borneo Post (AFP), 2024: Myanmar records 48.2 °C https://www.theborneopost.com/2024/04/30/myanmar-records-hottest-ever-april-temperature-of-48-2c/ Source: NBC News, 2024: school closures in the Philippines and Bangladesh https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/schools-close-extreme-heat-philippines-bangladesh-asia-rcna149485 ### May–June 2024, Northern India: Weeks of record heat in the north Peak: Nearly 50 °C in parts of the north; Delhi’s hottest night in more than five decades. Toll: 110 heat deaths and more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases officially recorded from 1 March to 18 June. On the final day of voting, 33 polling staff died of heat in Uttar Pradesh alone. Official counts kept rising for weeks as states reported in. What changed: Central government hospitals were told to set up heatwave units. Officials said the real toll was expected to be higher. Source: The Tribune (PTI), 2024: 110 deaths, 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/india-reports-110-deaths-40-000-heatstroke-cases-this-summer-632500/amp Source: AFP via Malay Mail, 2 June 2024 https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/world/2024/06/02/heatstroke-killed-33-indian-polling-staff-on-last-voting-day-says-state-election-chief/137732 ### April 2026, India and Pakistan: A pre-monsoon heatwave made three times more likely Peak: Above 46 °C in many cities. Toll: At least 37 heat deaths reported in India and 10 in Karachi; likely undercounted. Fifteen days of heat in late April pushed India’s electricity demand to a record and brought farm drought to more than a million square kilometres. What changed: Scientists found April heat like this now returns about every five years. Source: World Weather Attribution, 2026 https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-exposes-hundreds-of-millions-to-longer-and-deadlier-pre-monsoon-heat-in-south-asia/ Source: Mongabay, 2026 https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/05/climate-change-triples-chance-of-deadly-2026-south-asia-pre-monsoon-heatwave-report/ ## Practical actions against extreme heat, by setting 34 practical actions against extreme heat in workplaces, homes, schools, health facilities, markets and neighbourhoods, and what municipalities can do before summer. Each answers eight questions: what to do, who it protects, where it suits, who acts, what it takes to run, the evidence, what could stop it, and what it only works with. ### Outdoor and hot workplaces People who cannot stop working when it is hot: builders, vendors, riders, farm, factory and sanitation workers. What workers told researchers: Stopping work means losing income; There is nowhere to recover; Safe drinking water costs too much; Home stays hot after the shift; Warnings don’t reach us in a useful way; No one local to install or fix it (People’s Courage International: Hot Cities Make Hard Work Harder, a study with workers in Delhi, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Jakarta and Quezon City, https://www.ccacoalition.org/events/hot-cities-make-hard-work-harder-strengthening-health-and-livelihood-resilience-informal-workers-south-and-southeast-asian-cities) #### Worker cooling stations Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · Before the season - What to do: Rest points where workers already are, with shade or cooling, seating, drinking water, rehydration salts, a first-aid kit and a way to reach a clinic. - Who it protects: Construction workers, vendors, drivers, porters and loaders between jobs or on breaks. - Where it suits: Construction sites, markets, bus and taxi stands, labour chowks and community spaces with heavy foot traffic. - Who acts: City and local governments, Employers and businesses, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Water, ice and salts every day; cleaning; power for fans; someone on site; repairs before each season. - Evidence: The Migrants Resilience Collaborative reported that more than 27,000 workers used its cooling stations in India, Nepal and Bangladesh in one summer. These are the programme’s own figures; health and income effects have not been independently measured. (People’s Courage International, 2025: emergency response to the heatwave crisis in South and Southeast Asia, https://www.peoplescourageinternational.org/pdfs/Emergency%20response%20to%20heat%20wave%20crisis%20in%20South%20and%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf) - What could stop it: A station nobody can leave work to use, or one that closes when the day is hottest. - Works only if: Employers let workers use it without losing pay; It is open when people work; Someone refills and repairs it every day. - Delivery, where: On the routes workers really use, not where land happens to be free - Delivery, opening hours: Matched to working hours, including early mornings and evenings - Delivery, services: Shade or cooling, safe water, seating, first aid, referral to a clinic - Delivery, run by: A named person who checks, cleans, refills and repairs it - Delivery, access barriers: Lost wages, permission to leave work, disability access, who feels welcome - Delivery, how you will know: Visits, days open, user views, and health or income outcomes measured properly Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): At a Bengaluru construction site, a station cooled with water-soaked khus panels drew about 100–120 workers a day in April, falling to 70–80 after the monsoon began. (The Migration Story, https://themigrationstory.com/?p=19496) Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In 2026, People’s Courage International ran 20 cooling centres in big cities, placed near construction sites, road junctions and the labour nakas where day-wage workers look for jobs, with water, rehydration salts and phone charging. It reported more than 88,000 visits, and up to 1,841 in a day at one centre. These are the programme’s own figures. (World Economic Forum and BCG, Workforce Heat Resilience: An Actionable Framework to Close the Execution Gap, 2026, https://www.weforum.org/publications/workforce-heat-resilience-an-actionable-framework-to-close-the-execution-gap/) #### Warnings that reach workers Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · During the heat - What to do: Route official alerts through trusted worker messengers, voice notes and picture boards at stalls and labour chowks, with one clear action in each message and a way to report back. - Who it protects: Vendors, labourers and anyone without a smartphone, signal or the time to read. - Where it suits: Markets, labour chowks and worker unions or associations with leaders people trust. - Who acts: Weather and climate services, Worker organisations and unions, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: A messenger’s time every alert day, printed boards, and someone who answers when workers report a problem. - Evidence: In Delhi in 2025, the India Meteorological Department, worker organisations and Greenpeace India set up colour-coded heat boards at vending carts and sent bilingual audio and text alerts on WhatsApp to more than 20 worker leaders, who passed them on. (Greenpeace India: inside India’s first community-led early warning system for informal workers, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/story/18953/beyond-the-forecast-inside-indias-first-community-led-early-warning-system-for-extreme-weather-for-informal-workers/) - What could stop it: Alerts that tell people to stay indoors when they cannot, and no one listening when they report back. - Works only if: Each message comes with an action people can take; A named messenger passes it on; Workers can report missing water, shade or help, and someone responds. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): Vendors call themselves ‘climate messengers’; workers who cannot read ask them what the board means. (Mongabay India, July 2025, https://india.mongabay.com/2025/07/how-informal-workers-made-weather-warnings-more-effective-this-summer/) #### Safe water people do not have to buy Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · Over years - What to do: Free or cheap drinking water close to where people live and work: piped connections, community water points or refill stations. - Who it protects: Workers and families who now buy water and drink less than they need when it costs too much. - Where it suits: Informal settlements and work areas where water has to be bought. - Who acts: Water authorities, City and local governments, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Upkeep of pipes and points, water quality testing, and a fair way to bill or share costs. - Evidence: In Dhaka, the city water utility worked with local NGOs to bring 3,000 water connections into informal settlements through mini-networks joined to the city system. (Agence Française de Développement: improving access to drinking water in Dhaka’s informal settlements, https://www.afd.fr/en/projects/improve-access-drinking-water-dhakas-informal-settlements) - What could stop it: Rules that tie a connection to land title, so people in informal settlements cannot get one. - Works only if: Connections do not require land title; Water is tested and safe; Someone local can fix a broken point fast. #### Local jobs to install and keep it working Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · Over years - What to do: Train and pay local people to install, run and repair cool roofs, water points, shade and green spaces. - Who it protects: Everyone who depends on the equipment working, and the workers who gain a skill and income. - Where it suits: Any programme that builds things that need upkeep. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Development banks, donors and climate funds - Running and upkeep: Wages and training, built into the running budget from the start. - Evidence: Community-run drinking water plants in Delhi’s low-income settlements created local jobs in running the plants and distributing water. (Kumar, 2024: water security through the Tata Power DDL RO water plants, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384892155_WATER_SECURITY_THROUGH_CORPORATE_SOCIAL_RESPONSIBILITY_A_CASE_STUDY_OF_RO_WATER_PLANTS_BY_TATA_POWER_DDL) - What could stop it: Projects that train people once and then stop paying them. - Works only if: Upkeep jobs are paid for every year; Training leads to real work. #### Portable shade where there is no wall or tree Evidence: Design concept · Before the season - What to do: A light shelter with a bench and shade that can be moved between work sites or fixed to a wall. - Who it protects: Outdoor workers at sites with no shade at all. - Where it suits: Short-term sites, roadsides and markets. - Who acts: Employers and businesses, City and local governments, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Moving and fixing it, and repairs; someone needs to own it. - Evidence: Bengaluru’s Neralu shelter won a 2024 design contest: about 15 kg, seats four, costs about US$175, and can be carried on an auto-rickshaw. It had not yet been tried by workers when it was shown in May 2025. (AP News, June 2025, via KSAT, https://www.ksat.com/health/2025/06/07/how-an-innovative-portable-shelter-could-help-indias-outdoor-workers-beat-the-heat/) - What could stop it: Nobody owning it once the pilot ends. - Works only if: Workers test the design first; Someone owns, moves and repairs it. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, a ₹5,000 grant from the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute let a fruit and vegetable seller buy a large umbrella covering him and his produce, and a way to keep drinking water on his cart, so he no longer had to leave to find water. In Kolkata, a movable plastic sheet gave shade to a utensil seller with no fixed pitch. (AIDMI, southasiadisasters.net Issue 228: Small Heat Resilience Measures, Big Impact in Small Towns and on Small Businesses in India, 2026, https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/small-heat-resilience-measures-big-impact-small-towns-and) #### Paid rest breaks that switch on with the alert Evidence: Measured in a study · During the heat - What to do: Agree rest, shade and water breaks that start automatically at each alert level, with earlier or split shifts on the hottest days. - Who it protects: Construction, farm, delivery, sanitation and street workers. - Where it suits: Any worksite where an employer, contractor or city department sets the hours. - Who acts: Employers and businesses, Worker organisations and unions, National governments, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: Little equipment; the cost is paid time. Someone has to check the rule is kept. - Evidence: In Singapore, monitors at 24 workplaces found workers could face more heat stress than nearby weather stations reported, so set breaks by heat measured on site. (NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) - What could stop it: Piece-rate pay and fixed deadlines that make stopping cost money, and no inspection. - Works only if: Breaks are paid, or paired with income protection; Heat is measured where people work; Shade and water are a few minutes away; Inspectors or unions can check. Where it has been tried (Measured in a study): Outside Asia, at a sugar producer in Nicaragua, a rest, shade and water programme with La Isla Network raised cane-cutters’ productivity by 19% over five harvests despite shorter days, and cut hospital-treated acute kidney injury by 94%. Pay was changed so workers did not lose money by resting. (Hansson et al., Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxae007) Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): The same programme was estimated to return about $1.60 for every $1 invested by its third year. (World Economic Forum and BCG, Workforce Heat Resilience: An Actionable Framework to Close the Execution Gap, 2026, https://www.weforum.org/publications/workforce-heat-resilience-an-actionable-framework-to-close-the-execution-gap/) Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In October 2026, the Philippines’ Department of Labor and Employment said it was preparing heat safety measures for delivery riders with platform operators, using heat-index levels to guide breaks and when work stops. Its 2023 labour advisory already asks employers for adjusted rest breaks, free drinking water and ventilation. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 2026, https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2331096/dole-orders-safety-measures-for-riders-amid-extreme-heat) Where it has been tried (Measured in a study): Among 287 sugarcane cutters in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, each 1 °C rise in heat stress (WBGT, measured in the fields over a whole shift) cut output by about 9 stalks an hour, from an average of 387. (Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 2026, https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4336) #### Shade and water on work routes Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · Before the season - What to do: Rest shelters with seating, drinking water and rehydration salts along the streets and yards where people work. - Who it protects: Street vendors, delivery riders, traffic police, sanitation and construction workers. - Where it suits: Busy junctions, markets and work yards. Misting only in dry, breezy spots. - Who acts: City and local governments, Employers and businesses, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: A daily refill and cleaning roster, often ₹500–2,000 a day per water point, and repairs before each season. - Evidence: Nagpur put shade nets over 10–12 busy junctions in May 2026; several tore or collapsed in strong winds, and residents pointed out the heat had begun at the end of March. (The Hitavada, 11 May 2026, https://www.thehitavada.com//Encyc/2026/5/11/green-nets-at-city-squares-relief-measure-or-another-half-planned-half-planned-civic-experiment.html) - What could stop it: Nobody named to refill and repair it, or it goes up after the heat has started. - Works only if: It is in place before the hot season; A named team refills and repairs it; Workers are allowed to stop and use it; Frames are fixed firmly for storms. #### Income protection when it is too hot to work Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Cash that pays out automatically when heat crosses a set threshold, so workers can afford to stop. - Who it protects: Informal and daily-wage workers, especially women. - Where it suits: Where workers belong to an association, cooperative or scheme that can enrol them and pay by phone. - Who acts: Banks, insurers and financial regulators, Worker organisations and unions, National governments - Running and upkeep: Premiums or a public subsidy every season, plus enrolment and payment systems. - Evidence: In a survey of informal workers in Bangkok, nearly 80% had cut their hours because of heat. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf) - What could stop it: A trigger that misses the heat people feel, so they are harmed without a payout, and slow payments. - Works only if: The trigger counts humidity, not only temperature; Money arrives within days; Workers know they are covered. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In 2026, about 17,000 informal workers in South Asia were covered by parametric heat insurance arranged through People’s Courage International and a local partner, most with premiums paid by companies. Each payout was set at about ₹1,000–3,000, enough for 5–6 days of basic needs, with up to ₹9,000 over a year. These are the programme’s own figures. (World Economic Forum and BCG, Workforce Heat Resilience: An Actionable Framework to Close the Execution Gap, 2026, https://www.weforum.org/publications/workforce-heat-resilience-an-actionable-framework-to-close-the-execution-gap/) #### Heat-illness first aid on every shift Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · During the heat - What to do: Train supervisors and co-workers to spot heat illness, cool a person fast and get help, with water, shade and ice at hand. - Who it protects: Everyone on the site, especially new and older workers. - Where it suits: Construction sites, factories, brick kilns and farms with a supervisor. - Who acts: Employers and businesses, Worker organisations and unions, Health authorities - Running and upkeep: A refresher before each season, and a steady supply of water and ice. - Evidence: Doctors at two Indian hospitals with heatstroke units said more than 90% of the patients they treated for heat illness in 2024 were outdoor workers. (Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation), 2024, https://www.context.news/climate-risks/ice-baths-and-ventilators-indias-hospitals-adapt-to-killer-heat) - What could stop it: Training given once and forgotten, and no transport to a clinic. - Works only if: Someone trained is on every shift; Everyone knows the emergency number; Treatment is free at the clinic. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): Most worker heat illness strikes early: about 80% happens in the first four days on the job. Guidance is to build up new and returning workers’ hours in the heat over 7–14 days, with stricter limits during heatwaves. (World Economic Forum and BCG, Workforce Heat Resilience: An Actionable Framework to Close the Execution Gap, 2026, https://www.weforum.org/publications/workforce-heat-resilience-an-actionable-framework-to-close-the-execution-gap/) #### Measure and cool hot sheds and factories Evidence: Measured in a study · Over years - What to do: Measure heat at the workstations, then cool the roof and walls, add air flow, water and breaks. - Who it protects: Garment, factory, kiln and warehouse workers, many of them women. - Where it suits: Indoor workplaces under metal roofs or beside furnaces. - Who acts: Employers and businesses, Worker organisations and unions, National governments - Running and upkeep: A heat meter and someone to read it daily; upkeep of roofs and fans; power for ventilation. - Evidence: At three garment factories in Phnom Penh, workers reporting heat symptoms rose from 68% in the cooler months to 88% in the hot months, by their own reports. (Chea et al., BMC Public Health, 2025, https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-22787-0) - What could stop it: Nobody measuring heat indoors, and factory owners who rent the building. - Works only if: Heat is measured where people stand; Workers can report symptoms without risk; Fans have power when it is hottest. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): Studies summarised for apparel buyers find output falls about 2.6% for each degree of heat stress above 24 °C WBGT. Where toilets are unsafe or missing, women workers often drink less water and suffer worse heat illness, so toilets belong in the plan. (FSG, Managing Heat: From Worker Welfare to Business Resilience, 2026, https://www.fsg.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Managing-Heat-From-Worker-Welfare-to-Business-Resilience_FINAL-4-2-26.pdf) ### Homes Where people sleep, cook and care for others, often under thin roofs that stay hot after dark. #### Cool roofs Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: A white, solar-reflective coating on tin, asbestos or concrete roofs, so less heat reaches the room below. - Who it protects: Families in informal and low-income homes, older people, young children and the sick. - Where it suits: Sound roofs in hot, sunny places, where residents can stay long enough to benefit. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Development banks, donors and climate funds - Running and upkeep: Recoating every few years, and a thermometer to check it works. - Evidence: In a two-year trial in Burkina Faso, cool roofs lowered indoor temperatures by 1.2–1.7 °C and residents’ heart rates fell; a trial in about 400 Ahmedabad homes began in 2025. (Reuters, via South China Morning Post, 2025, https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3301810/indian-slums-get-cool-roofs-beat-summer-heat) - What could stop it: Promising degrees nobody measured, renters who cannot change the roof, and no money to recoat. - Works only if: Rooms are measured before and after; Tenants are protected from rent rises; Someone pays to recoat. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In Dhaka’s Kerail settlement, reflective paint went on 105 buildings, including a day care centre, a school and two garment factories. Indoor air at peak heat fell by 7.72 °C in one building and by 3.5 °C on average; one roof’s surface fell by 12.3 °C. Thin corrugated roofs made it hard to apply, and some local paints were not reflective enough. (Sustainable Energy for All and the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, via PreventionWeb, 2021, https://www.preventionweb.net/news/cool-roofs-help-reduce-heatwave-impacts-bangladesh-and-indonesia) Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): In an industrial building in Indonesia, a 5,200 m² cool roof brought indoor air at noon down from 40.8 °C to 30.4 °C for about 500 shift workers. These are indoor air readings; roof-surface drops are always larger. (Sustainable Energy for All and the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, via PreventionWeb, 2021, https://www.preventionweb.net/news/cool-roofs-help-reduce-heatwave-impacts-bangladesh-and-indonesia) #### Shade the walls and let the air through Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Bamboo blinds, jute screens or awnings on the sunny side, and higher vents that let hot air out at night. - Who it protects: Everyone indoors, especially at night. - Where it suits: Most homes; screens are cheap and households can fit them. - Who acts: Community and civil society groups, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: Fixing and replacing screens each season; vents need rain and mosquito screens. - Evidence: In low-income homes measured in Dhaka, Delhi, Faisalabad and rural Maharashtra, tin-roofed houses stayed warmer indoors than outside because they cooled so slowly at night. (Tasgaonkar et al., Scientific Data, 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01314-5) - What could stop it: Openings that let in dust, rain or intruders, and screens that block all air. - Works only if: Air can still move; Vents are secure; Someone replaces worn screens. #### Fans and power people can afford Evidence: Measured in a study · Over years - What to do: Efficient fans, lifeline electricity tariffs and reliable supply in the hottest weeks. - Who it protects: Low-income households without any way to cool down. - Where it suits: Homes with a grid connection; solar where the grid is weak. - Who acts: Utilities and energy regulators, City and local governments, National governments - Running and upkeep: Monthly power bills, and a grid that holds in a heatwave. - Evidence: 1.12 billion of the rural and urban poor are at high risk because they lack access to cooling. (Sustainable Energy for All, 2023, https://www.seforall.org/our-work/research-analysis/chilling-prospects-series/chilling-prospects-global-access-to-cooling-gaps-2023) - What could stop it: Power cuts at the hottest hours, and bills people cannot pay. - Works only if: Power is reliable when it is hottest; Tariffs protect the poorest; Fans are efficient. #### Cooler, cleaner kitchens Evidence: Measured in a study · Over years - What to do: Let heat and smoke out of the kitchen, move cooking to cooler hours, and make cleaner fuel affordable through the season. - Who it protects: Women and girls who cook, and children near the stove. - Where it suits: Homes cooking indoors on wood, dung, kerosene or gas. - Who acts: Community and civil society groups, Utilities and energy regulators, National governments - Running and upkeep: Fuel costs every month, and upkeep of vents and chimneys. - Evidence: In Nepal’s Madhesh Province, women cooking in hot, smoky kitchens carry a daily ‘thermal labour’ that falls hardest on women in the poorest single-room homes with little access to clean energy or credit. (Ghimire and others, Frontiers in Public Health, 2025, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1657267/full) - What could stop it: Clean fuel bought once but not refilled, and kitchens with no way for air to escape. - Works only if: Refills stay affordable all season; There is an opening for heat and smoke; Women decide how it is designed. #### Check on people alone through hot nights Evidence: Measured in a study · During the heat - What to do: Neighbours, health workers or volunteers call or visit older, ill and disabled people who live alone, day and night, during alerts. - Who it protects: Older people, people with disabilities or long-term illness, people living alone. - Where it suits: Any neighbourhood with a list of who lives alone. - Who acts: Community and civil society groups, Health authorities, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: A list kept up to date, and volunteers’ or health workers’ time during alerts. - Evidence: Data from 47,628 people in 68 countries shows hot nights shorten sleep, with bigger losses for older people and in lower-income countries. (Minor et al., One Earth, 2022, https://orbit.dtu.dk/en/publications/rising-temperatures-erode-human-sleep-globally) - What could stop it: No list of who lives alone, and calls that stop at sunset. - Works only if: Someone keeps the list; Calls continue after dark; Callers know when to send help. ### Schools and childcare Children in hot classrooms learn less and fall ill more easily. Most fixes are small and seasonal. #### Cool the hottest classrooms first Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: A reflective coating or a ventilated second roof over the classrooms that get hottest. - Who it protects: Pupils and teachers. - Where it suits: Single-storey schools with metal or concrete roofs. - Who acts: Schools and education authorities, City and local governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds - Running and upkeep: A line in the school maintenance budget for recoating; anchors checked before the monsoon. - Evidence: In the United States, each 1 °F hotter school year without air conditioning cut that year’s learning by about 1%, with the largest losses for disadvantaged students. Effects in Asian classrooms are not yet measured. (Park, Goodman, Hurwitz and Smith, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2020, https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/pol.20180612) - What could stop it: Canopies not anchored for monsoon winds, and no budget to recoat. - Works only if: Classroom heat is logged before and after; There is money to maintain it. #### Water, and time to drink it Evidence: Official guidance or data · Before the season - What to do: Enough safe, cool drinking water for every child, with breaks in the timetable to use it. - Who it protects: Every pupil, especially the youngest. - Where it suits: Every school. - Who acts: Schools and education authorities, Water authorities - Running and upkeep: Filter changes, cleaning and a supply that lasts the hottest weeks. - Evidence: Heatwaves disrupted schooling for an estimated 171 million students in 2024, and South Asia was the most affected region. (UNICEF, 2025, https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024) - What could stop it: One tap for hundreds of children, or filters nobody changes. - Works only if: Enough taps for the number of children; Teachers build drinking into the day. #### Heat-ready timetables Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · During the heat - What to do: Start earlier, shorten the hottest afternoons, move exams and sports, and keep learning going if schools have to close. - Who it protects: Pupils, teachers and parents who travel in the heat. - Where it suits: Education departments and school boards, set before the season. - Who acts: Schools and education authorities, National governments, Weather and climate services - Running and upkeep: Little money; it needs agreed triggers and a plan for remote or make-up learning. - Evidence: Bangladesh closed schools for about 33 million children in its April 2024 heatwave, and Cambodia cut the school day by two hours. (NBC News, 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/schools-close-extreme-heat-philippines-bangladesh-asia-rcna149485) - What could stop it: Closing schools with no plan for learning, and decisions made on the day. - Works only if: Triggers are agreed before the season; There is a plan to make up lost learning. #### Shaded play space Evidence: Measured in a study · Over years - What to do: Trees, shade structures and less hard paving where children play and queue. - Who it protects: Children at break times and assembly. - Where it suits: Schools with open yards and a water source. - Who acts: Schools and education authorities, City and local governments, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Watering through the holidays, when nobody is at school. - Evidence: Researchers studying how age groups use green spaces found children wanted trees for shade and places to play: ask them before you design. (Frantzeskaki et al., chapter 11 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) - What could stop it: Planting that dies in the first summer break. - Works only if: Someone waters through the holidays; Children help choose where shade goes. ### Health facilities Clinics and hospitals fill up in a heatwave just as power, water and staff come under strain. #### Ready to cool heatstroke patients fast Evidence: Official guidance or data · During the heat - What to do: Rapid assessment and active cooling of suspected heatstroke, with ice packs, IV fluids, rehydration salts and trained staff. - Who it protects: Anyone with heat illness, above all outdoor workers and older people. - Where it suits: Every hospital and health centre in heat-prone districts. - Who acts: Health authorities, National governments - Running and upkeep: Stocks of ice, fluids and medicines through the season, and training every year. - Evidence: In June 2024 India’s health ministry asked central government hospitals to set up special heatwave units, and advised rapid assessment and active cooling of suspected heatstroke, with stocks of rehydration salts, IV fluids and ice packs. (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, press release, 19 June 2024, https://mohfw.gov.in/press-info/7538) - What could stop it: Supplies that run out at the peak, and staff who have never practised the protocol. - Works only if: Staff train before the season; Ice and fluids are stocked early; Care for heat illness is free. #### Keep the power on and the building cool Evidence: Official guidance or data · Over years - What to do: Backup or solar power, cooling in waiting and treatment areas, and cool roofs, shading and rainwater harvesting. - Who it protects: Patients, staff, and medicines and vaccines that spoil in heat. - Where it suits: Facilities on weak grids or under hot roofs, especially in rural areas. - Who acts: Health authorities, Utilities and energy regulators, Development banks, donors and climate funds - Running and upkeep: Fuel or battery upkeep, servicing of cooling, and a power company that prioritises the facility. - Evidence: About 12% of health facilities in low- and lower-middle-income countries in South Asia have no electricity at all, and rural facilities are worse served than urban ones. (WHO fact sheet: electricity in health-care facilities, 2023, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/electricity-in-health-care-facilities) - What could stop it: Backup generators with no fuel budget, and cooling nobody services. - Works only if: The power company knows the facility comes first; Someone services the backup; There is a running budget. #### Protect the staff Evidence: Measured in a study · During the heat - What to do: Cool rest rooms, drinking water, and shorter rotations for staff in full protective gear. - Who it protects: Nurses, doctors, community health workers and cleaners. - Where it suits: Wards, emergency rooms and outreach teams in hot weather. - Who acts: Health authorities, Worker organisations and unions - Running and upkeep: Staff time for rotations, and a cooled rest space. - Evidence: Across 3,082 health workers in India, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, poor practices with protective equipment were linked to heat-related symptoms. (Yang et al., BMC Nursing, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01770-x) - What could stop it: Too few staff to rotate during a surge. - Works only if: Rotas plan for the surge; Staff can report symptoms early. #### A surge plan linked to the warning Evidence: Independently evaluated · During the heat - What to do: Extra beds, staff and supplies that switch on with each alert level, agreed with the weather service and the city. - Who it protects: Everyone who falls ill in a heatwave. - Where it suits: District and city health systems with a heat warning. - Who acts: Health authorities, Weather and climate services, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: Planning time before the season, and overtime or reserve staff during alerts. - Evidence: After Ahmedabad’s heat action plan prepared hospitals and warned the public, an estimated 1,190 deaths a year were avoided. (Hess et al., Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236972/) - What could stop it: Warnings that reach the public but not the hospital. - Works only if: Hospitals receive the alert directly; Each level names what the hospital does. #### Shade and water for people waiting outside Evidence: Official guidance or data · Before the season - What to do: Shade, seating and drinking water where patients queue, and appointment slots so fewer wait at midday. - Who it protects: Patients and carers, especially older people, pregnant women and children. - Where it suits: Outpatient departments, health centres and vaccination days. - Who acts: Health authorities, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: Someone to refill water and keep the space usable. - Evidence: India’s June 2024 advisory asked facilities in heat-prone areas to provide shade outside, and cooling in waiting areas. (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, press release, 19 June 2024, https://mohfw.gov.in/press-info/7538) - What could stop it: Shade built where the queue isn’t. - Works only if: It is where people actually wait; Someone refills the water. ### Markets and neighbourhoods The streets, markets, stops and public spaces where people spend the hottest hours. #### Shade and water in markets, designed with vendors Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Shade over stalls and aisles, and drinking water points, planned and run with the vendors’ association. - Who it protects: Street vendors and their customers. - Where it suits: Open and street markets. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Worker organisations and unions - Running and upkeep: Storm-proof fixing, replacing worn cloth, and a refill and cleaning roster. - Evidence: Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in April and May 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) - What could stop it: Beautification that pushes informal vendors out, and shade that blocks fire access. - Works only if: Vendors have a say in design and upkeep; Nobody is evicted to make room. Where it has been tried (Reported, not evaluated): Young women vendors in Ahmedabad, who already sell 8 to 12 and 4 to 8 to avoid the midday heat, asked for shared shade sails covering about ten sellers each, and a licensed, fixed place to sell. (AIDMI, southasiadisasters.net Issue 228: Small Heat Resilience Measures, Big Impact in Small Towns and on Small Businesses in India, 2026, https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/small-heat-resilience-measures-big-impact-small-towns-and) #### Cool waiting points Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Shade, a bench, drinking water and the heat alert on a board, at bus stops, ration shops and other queues. - Who it protects: Commuters, older and disabled people, carers with children. - Where it suits: Busy stops and queues with no shade. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Refilling the water, and keeping access clear for wheelchairs. - Evidence: Measuring how hot people feel on summer days, researchers found shade from buildings cooled most by day, then trees, then light structures such as sails. (Middel et al., 50 Grades of Shade, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10230332-grades-shade) - What could stop it: Counting shelters built instead of people protected. - Works only if: It is where people actually wait; Older and disabled people can reach it. #### Cooling centres people can actually use Evidence: Official guidance or data · During the heat - What to do: Cool public spaces, such as libraries, community halls or places of worship, opened during alerts, with water and somewhere to sit. - Who it protects: People with no cool place at home, and outdoor workers on breaks. - Where it suits: Neighbourhoods with many hot homes and a suitable public building nearby. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Health authorities - Running and upkeep: Staff, power and water for every alert day, and transport for those who cannot walk there. - Evidence: A review of the evidence and strategies for running cooling centres to prevent heat-related illness. (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the GHHIN resource library, https://heathealth.info/wp-content/uploads/cdc_47657_DS1-compressed-1.pdf) - What could stop it: A cooled building nobody can reach, open at the wrong hours, or a worker who cannot leave work to use it. - Works only if: People can reach it, including those who can’t walk far; It opens at the right hours, evenings too; Power and water are secure; Someone staffs and funds it; Workers are free to leave work to use it. #### Trees that survive Evidence: Measured in a study · Over years - What to do: Look after existing trees first; plant heat-hardy species where people walk and wait, with water and three years of care. - Who it protects: Pedestrians, vendors and everyone waiting outside. - Where it suits: Streets and open spaces with root space and a water source. - Who acts: City and local governments, Water authorities, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Watering and care for at least three years after planting. - Evidence: In one Berlin park more than 500 of 870 new trees died within ten years despite watering: count trees that survive, not saplings planted. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) - What could stop it: No water plan, and counting saplings instead of canopy. - Works only if: Water is secured before planting; Someone is paid to care for them; Greening doesn’t push residents out. Where it has been tried (Simulation or test): Keep wetlands as well as trees: a model of the 2023 heatwave in Cambodia’s lower Mekong delta found wetlands cooled the air by about 2–3 °C over wet areas and beyond, so draining them adds to heat. (Frontiers in Climate, 2026 (model study), https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1843008) ### Before summer: for municipalities The decisions a city or district makes before the first heatwave decide what happens during it. #### Name an owner and set aside the money Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Give heat a named lead office, and ring-fence a heat budget before the season starts. - Who it protects: Everyone the plan covers, by making sure it can be paid for. - Where it suits: Every city, district or state with a heat plan, or about to write one. - Who acts: City and local governments, National governments, Development banks, donors and climate funds - Running and upkeep: A budget line each year, and staff time in the lead office. - Evidence: Of 37 Indian heat action plans reviewed, 11 discussed funding, and 8 of those simply asked departments to find their own money. (Centre for Policy Research, 2023, https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/) - What could stop it: A plan with no money and no single owner. - Works only if: The money is set aside before the heat; One office answers for the plan. #### Set local alert levels, and who acts at each Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Set thresholds from local health records, and agree who decides, who acts, who pays and by when at each level. - Who it protects: Everyone, by turning warnings into action. - Where it suits: Cities and districts with a weather forecast and health data. - Who acts: Weather and climate services, Health authorities, City and local governments - Running and upkeep: A yearly review of thresholds and who does what. - Evidence: Ahmedabad set its alert temperatures from the local link between daily maximum temperature and deaths; in 2023 only about 10 of 37 Indian heat plans appeared to set local thresholds. (Centre for Policy Research, 2023, https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/) - What could stop it: A warning with no named person to act on it. - Works only if: Every level has someone named to act; Warnings reach people without phones. #### Map who is most exposed, with them Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Find the neighbourhoods, workers and households most at risk, by walking the area with residents and their organisations. - Who it protects: The people a plan usually misses. - Where it suits: Every ward or district, before choosing actions. - Who acts: City and local governments, Community and civil society groups, Health authorities - Running and upkeep: A few weeks of fieldwork, updated every year or two. - Evidence: Of the 37 Indian heat action plans reviewed, only two included a vulnerability assessment. (Centre for Policy Research, 2023, https://cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action/) - What could stop it: Mapping from an office, without the people at risk. - Works only if: Residents and workers take part; The map changes what gets built. Where it has been tried (Measured in a study): Mapping matters because heat stress is not rising evenly: in Bangladesh the heat index rose fastest, about 0.67 °C a decade over 1981–2023, in 14 north-western districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur, where humidity rose too. (Discover Hazards, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1007/s44475-026-00075-8) #### Get the assets ready before the heat Evidence: Reported, not evaluated · Before the season - What to do: Shade, water points, cooling spaces and roof coatings installed and tested by the end of winter. - Who it protects: Outdoor workers, people in hot homes, people waiting outside. - Where it suits: Any city with a known hot season. - Who acts: City and local governments, Water authorities, Community and civil society groups - Running and upkeep: Upkeep through the season, with named teams and a budget. - Evidence: Nagpur’s junction shade nets went up in May 2026, though residents said the heat had begun at the end of March. (The Hitavada, 11 May 2026, https://www.thehitavada.com//Encyc/2026/5/11/green-nets-at-city-squares-relief-measure-or-another-half-planned-half-planned-civic-experiment.html) - What could stop it: Procurement that starts when the heat does. - Works only if: Contracts are signed in winter; Every asset has someone to keep it working. #### Prepare clinics, and count heat illness Evidence: Official guidance or data · During the heat - What to do: Check clinics are ready, and record heat illness and deaths every day of the season so the plan can respond. - Who it protects: Everyone who falls ill, and future plans that need the numbers. - Where it suits: District health offices and hospitals. - Who acts: Health authorities, National governments - Running and upkeep: Daily reporting through the season, and training for doctors who certify deaths. - Evidence: India’s surveillance logged 48,385 suspected heatstroke cases by 28 July 2024, but only 185 confirmed heatstroke deaths. (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 6 August 2024, https://rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf) - What could stop it: Deaths recorded as heart failure, so heat stays invisible. - Works only if: Doctors know how to record heat as a cause; Numbers are reviewed during the season. #### Release money on the forecast Evidence: Measured in a study · Before the season - What to do: Agree in advance what money is released, and for what, when the forecast crosses a threshold, before the heat peaks. - Who it protects: People who would otherwise get help only after the damage. - Where it suits: Cities and districts with a reliable forecast and a pre-agreed fund. - Who acts: Weather and climate services, Development banks, donors and climate funds, National governments - Running and upkeep: A fund topped up each year, and rules for releasing it. - Evidence: US$800 million spent on early warning systems in developing countries could avoid US$3–16 billion in losses every year. (Global Commission on Adaptation, 2019, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/7713887e-5c0c-5fce-9dd0-c18a8875736c) - What could stop it: Money that needs a declared disaster before it can move. - Works only if: Release rules are agreed in advance; Money reaches people within days. Where it has been tried (Simulation or test): In Dhaka, the Red Cross and Red Crescent tested heatwave triggers in a 2021 simulation and gave cash grants of BDT 4,500; most recipients spent it on food, and many on medical costs. In April 2024 the Bangladesh Red Crescent activated its heatwave early action protocol for real. (Anticipation Hub: the story of heatwave anticipatory action in Dhaka, https://www.anticipation-hub.org/news/the-story-of-heatwave-anticipatory-action-in-dhaka-bangladesh) ### What could a heat-resilient market look like? Illustrative setting, not a survey of a specific place. These are possibilities to explore, not a guarantee of protection. What works depends on local conditions and the people using the space. #### Stall canopy: Shade where people trade and wait - What could help: Coverings over stalls, and over the walkways between them, can keep direct sun off vendors and shoppers. The right kind depends on the space: fixed or movable, one stall or shared along a row, and how air moves underneath. - What makes it work: Agree where it can go, and keep walkways and fire access clear. It works best when vendors help design it, nobody loses their pitch to make room, and someone is named to repair, replace and storm-proof it. - People to involve (suggested roles): Vendors and their association; The market manager or municipal authority; Whoever installs and maintains it - Evidence (Measured in a study): Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in April and May 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) - Evidence (Reported, not evaluated): Young women vendors in Ahmedabad asked for shared shade sails covering about ten sellers each, and a licensed, fixed place to sell. (AIDMI, southasiadisasters.net Issue 228, 2026, https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/small-heat-resilience-measures-big-impact-small-towns-and) - Limits: The survey describes the problem shade responds to in one city; it does not measure what a canopy changes. #### Drinking-water point: Water people can reach and use - What could help: A drinking-water point close to where people trade means vendors need not leave their stall, or spend their earnings, to drink. A tap stand, a refill point or a cooler topped up through the day can all play this role. - What makes it work: Someone has to keep it supplied, clean and tested, and fix it quickly when it breaks. It works best when it is free or cheap, reachable by people using wheelchairs, and open during trading hours. - People to involve (suggested roles): The water utility or municipality; The market committee; A named caretaker; Vendors, who know where it is needed - Evidence (Reported, not evaluated): In Dhaka, the city water utility worked with local NGOs to bring 3,000 water connections into informal settlements through mini-networks joined to the city system. (Agence Française de Développement: improving access to drinking water in Dhaka’s informal settlements, https://www.afd.fr/en/projects/improve-access-drinking-water-dhakas-informal-settlements) - Limits: These are household connections in informal settlements, not a market water point; they show a utility and local groups extending supply, not use or health effects. #### Resting place: A place to pause and recover - What could help: A shaded bench or rest point, with water nearby, gives people somewhere to cool down in the hottest hours. In a market it can serve vendors, porters and shoppers, including older people and people out with children. - What makes it work: A rest place only helps if people can afford to use it. Vendors may need someone to mind the stall, and porters paid by the load lose money when they stop: breaks and income protection matter as much as the bench. - People to involve (suggested roles): Market management; Vendor and worker associations; Employers of porters and loaders; Local health services - Evidence (Reported, not evaluated): The Migrants Resilience Collaborative reported that more than 27,000 workers used its cooling stations in India, Nepal and Bangladesh in one summer. These are the programme’s own figures. (People’s Courage International, 2025, https://www.peoplescourageinternational.org/pdfs/Emergency%20response%20to%20heat%20wave%20crisis%20in%20South%20and%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf) - Evidence (Measured in a study): In a survey of informal workers in Bangkok, nearly 80% had cut their hours because of heat. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf) - Limits: These are worker cooling stations and a survey of working hours, not market benches; health and income effects of the stations have not been independently measured. #### Nearby building roof: A cooler roof next door - What could help: Vendors often store goods, eat or live in the buildings around a market. A reflective roof coating, or shade above the roof, can reduce how much heat passes into the rooms below. - What makes it work: Check the roof type, fire safety, ventilation and who owns the building first. It is fairer when tenants do not face higher rent for the improvement; someone has to pay to recoat it, and heat also comes in through walls and windows. - People to involve (suggested roles): Building owners and tenants; The municipality; Community groups or contractors who apply and maintain coatings; Funders - Evidence (Measured in a study): In a two-year trial in Burkina Faso, cool roofs lowered indoor temperatures by 1.2–1.7 °C and residents’ heart rates fell; a trial in about 400 Ahmedabad homes began in 2025. (Reuters, via South China Morning Post, 2025, https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3301810/indian-slums-get-cool-roofs-beat-summer-heat) - Limits: These are homes, not shops or storerooms, and results may not transfer; roof type and local conditions decide what is possible. #### Tree: Shade that grows - What could help: Trees can shade a market’s edges and resting places for decades. A young tree gives little shade at first, so planting now is part of a longer plan, alongside shade people can use this season. - What makes it work: Secure water and growing space before planting, and pay someone to care for the trees. Plan who benefits: greening works best when it does not push vendors or residents out of the place it improves. - People to involve (suggested roles): The municipality’s parks or horticulture team; The water department; Market users; Local groups who can care for trees - Evidence (Measured in a study): In one Berlin park more than 500 of 870 new trees died within ten years despite watering: count trees that survive, not saplings planted. (Hansen et al., chapter 10 in Nature-Based Solutions for Cities, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800376762) - Limits: A European park, not an Asian market: it shows why water and care decide survival, not how much shade a tree gives. #### Vendor: Protection that fits a working day - What could help: Vendors already adapt: many trade early and late and rest at midday. Support can build on that, with trading hours that allow it, a small grant for shade or water storage, and cash that arrives when heat makes trading impossible. - What makes it work: Ask vendors first. Their hours, earnings, transport and care for children shape what they can use. Support works when money arrives quickly and vendors have a say through their associations. - People to involve (suggested roles): Vendors and their associations; The municipality and market management; Microfinance groups or insurers; Social protection agencies - Evidence (Reported, not evaluated): In Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, a ₹5,000 grant let a fruit and vegetable seller buy a large umbrella for himself and his produce, and a way to keep drinking water on his cart. (AIDMI, southasiadisasters.net Issue 228, 2026, https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/small-heat-resilience-measures-big-impact-small-towns-and) - Evidence (Reported, not evaluated): Young women vendors in Ahmedabad already sell from 8 to 12 and from 4 to 8, resting through the hottest hours. (AIDMI, southasiadisasters.net Issue 228, 2026, https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/documents-and-publications/small-heat-resilience-measures-big-impact-small-towns-and) - Limits: Individual accounts gathered by one organisation in Indian towns and cities: reported experience, not an evaluation. ### A week in the heat: an exercise Follow one worker’s money through a heatwave week, build protection, then test it. A measure counts only when the person can actually use it. #### India - Rekha, Vegetable vendor: Rekha buys vegetables at dawn and sells from a cart until dark. What does not sell by evening, she loses. - Sunil, Daily-wage construction worker: Sunil waits at the naka from 7 a.m. If a contractor picks him, he works the day. If he is not there, someone else is picked. - Farida, Home-based garment worker: Farida stitches garments at home, paid by the piece. The tin roof turns the room into an oven by noon, and it stays hot at night. - In a survey of 721 Delhi street vendors in 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) - Doctors at two Indian hospitals said more than 90% of their heat-illness patients in 2024 were outdoor workers. (Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation), 2024, https://www.context.news/climate-risks/ice-baths-and-ventilators-indias-hospitals-adapt-to-killer-heat) #### Bangladesh - Rahim, Rickshaw puller: Rahim rents a rickshaw from a garage owner every morning. Whatever he earns, the day’s rent is owed when he returns it. - Rickshaw pullers in Dhaka have described their earnings falling from about Tk 1,200 to Tk 700–800 a day in extreme heat, with fewer passengers and shorter hours. (The Business Standard, https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/environment/beneath-burning-sky-everyone-feels-heat-informal-workers-pay-highest-price) - In a 2024 heatwave, one puller returned his rickshaw after a few hours and still owed the day’s Tk 150 rent. (The Daily Star, 2024, https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/small-businesses-daily-earners-scorched-heatwave-3594581) - In April 2024 the Bangladesh Red Crescent acted on the heat forecast in Dhaka: cash grants of at least Tk 5,000 to 4,000 households, three cooling stations with more than 15,000 visits, and caps for 3,500 rickshaw and van pullers. (Rockefeller Foundation case study, 2024, https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Heatwaves-in-Dhaka-Case-Study.pdf) - Dhaka North appointed a chief heat officer in 2023, and the city has given rickshaw pullers umbrellas, water and saline, and planned shaded cooling zones. (The Daily Observer, October 2024, https://observerbd.com/news/470908) #### Nepal - Kamala, Brick-kiln worker: Kamala moulds bricks in the open from first light, paid by the thousand. She took a pay advance from the labour contractor before the season; part of each day’s pay goes against it. - A national survey found 176,373 manual workers, including family members, in Nepal’s brick kilns, which operate seasonally from October to June. Over three-quarters (75.7%) received a pay advance from a labour contractor. (Central Bureau of Statistics, ILO and UNICEF, 2020, https://www.unicef.org/nepal/press-releases/ending-forced-and-child-labour-nepals-brick-industry-need-holistic-approach) - In late May 2026, temperatures in Dhangadhi and Nepalgunj in the western Terai reached around 38 °C before noon, and heatstroke patients were arriving at Bheri Hospital every day. (Kantipur, 2026, https://ekantipur.com/news/2026/05/24/en/temperatures-exceed-40-degrees-celsius-in-western-tarai-normal-life-affected-by-heatwave-38-16.html) - Nepal recorded 89 days above the historical 90th-percentile temperature between May 2024 and May 2025. (The Kathmandu Post, 2026, https://kathmandupost.com/money/2026/07/30/extreme-heat-threatens-nepal-s-economy-as-warming-accelerates) - Under the national health insurance programme, a family of up to five pays Rs 3,500 a year for treatment worth up to Rs 100,000. (The Himalayan Times, https://thehimalayantimes.com/health/health-insurance-board-clarifies-opd-limit-total-coverage-unchanged) - Researchers in Nepal have proposed heat stress limits for different workloads, drawing on measurements in sectors including brick kilns. (Heat Standard Across Different Workloads in Nepal, 2024, https://nepjol.info/index.php/gswow/article/view/72747) #### Sri Lanka - Nimal, Fish seller: Nimal buys fish at the landing site at dawn and sells it from an iced box on his bicycle. In the heat, fish spoils faster: he needs more ice, and what does not sell by midday loses its value. - In March 2024 the Department of Meteorology issued heat advisories for the Western Province and others, urging people to stay hydrated and work in the shade. (News 1st, 2024, https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/03/04/heat-advisory-issued-by-sri-lanka-s-met-dept) - In 2023, when fish traders at Peliyagoda raised concerns about the price of ice, the Ministry of Fisheries brought traders and ice suppliers together and agreed a lower price: Rs 650 for 50 kg instead of Rs 850. (Ministry of Fisheries, 2023 (the original notice is no longer online), https://www.fisheries.gov.lk/) - A national strategy on fish loss names the high cost of energy for fishing, ice and transport as a weakness, and aims to cut quality loss in the multi-day fishery by 30% by 2033. (FAO: food loss and waste in fish value chains, Sri Lanka, https://www.fao.org/flw-in-fish-value-chains/projects/sri-lanka/multidimensional-solutions-strategy/en) - Sri Lanka has provided free public health care to its whole population since 1951. (ILO social protection brief, https://un.social-protection.org/gimi/Media.action?id=18733) #### Cambodia - Sreymom, Garment worker: Sreymom sews on a factory line under a metal roof. Her monthly wage is protected; the overtime that pays for her family’s extras is not, and missing a day loses the month’s attendance bonus. - The 2026 minimum wage for garment, footwear and travel goods workers is US$210 a month, plus a US$7 transport or housing allowance and a US$10 monthly attendance bonus. (DFDL, on Prakas 214/25, 2025, https://www.dfdl.com/insights/legal-and-tax-updates/cambodia-increase-in-minimum-wage-for-2026-for-the-garments-textiles-footwear/) - In April 2024 the Ministry of Labour asked factories to spray water on roofs, install enough fans, open windows, provide more clean drinking water and assign staff to watch workplace thermometers. (CamboJA News, 2024, https://cambojanews.com/garment-workers-request-for-water-mist-fans-as-rising-temperatures-affect-health-and-productivity) - At three garment factories in Phnom Penh, workers reporting heat symptoms rose from 68% in the cooler months to 88% in the hot months, by their own reports. (Chea et al., BMC Public Health, 2025, https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-025-22787-0) - The National Social Security Fund’s health care scheme covers private-sector workers at contracted public and private facilities. (UN Global Marketplace notice, 2024, https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/246332) #### Indonesia - Budi, App-based motorbike rider: Budi carries passengers and food orders through an app. He pays for his own fuel, phone data and motorbike, and the day’s incentive depends on how many trips he completes. - A 2023 survey of 225 app-based motorbike riders around Jakarta found an average daily income of Rp171,600. (IDEAS, via Databoks, 2025, https://databoks.katadata.co.id/en/employment/statistics/682bff44af745/how-much-do-online-motorcycle-taxi-drivers-earn-daily-in-jabodetabek) - Riders pay their own running costs; a transport ministry survey put them at Rp50,000–100,000 a day. (detikOto, https://oto.detik.com/berita/d-7965233/umr-jakarta-lewat-segini-upah-ojol-yang-narik-6-jam-hari) - In hot spells, Jakarta’s health office has advised drinking more water, covering up and limiting strenuous outdoor activity between 11 am and 3 pm. (Indonesian National Police news, 2026, https://inp.polri.go.id/artikel/jakarta-governor-urges-vigilance-as-extreme-heat-grips-capital) - The government has halved work-accident and death insurance contributions for app-based riders and other transport workers, to Rp8,400 a month, from January 2026 to March 2027. (Bisnis.com, 2026, https://ekonomi.bisnis.com/read/20260113/12/1943873/diskon-50-iuran-bpjs-jkk-jkm-buat-ojol-cs-diperpanjang-hingga-2027) #### Philippines - Joy, Street food vendor: Joy sells snacks and cold drinks from a cart. When heat suspends in-person classes, her children are at home, and looking after them falls to her. - On 5 April 2024, 5,288 schools switched from in-person classes to remote learning because of the heat, affecting more than 3.6 million students. (Malay Mail (AFP), 2024, https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2024/04/05/thousands-of-philippine-schools-suspend-in-person-classes-due-to-heat-says-education-dept/127511) - School heads can suspend in-person classes when the heat index is high, under a 2022 Department of Education order. (Manila Bulletin, 2024, https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/31/dep-ed-confirms-suspension-of-classes-in-several-areas-due-to-severe-heat) - PAGASA recorded a heat index of 46 °C at NAIA in Pasay City on 24 April 2024, the highest in Metro Manila that year. (PAGASA heat index (the 2024 summary is no longer online), https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/weather/heat-index) - The Department of Labor and Employment has reminded employers to adjust rest breaks, provide free drinking water and ventilate workplaces in the hot season. Self-employed vendors work outside these workplace measures. (The Manila Times, 2024, https://manilatimes.net/2024/03/24/news/national/dole-protect-workers-from-heat-stress/1938252) #### Singapore - Kumar, Migrant construction worker: Kumar works on a building site and sleeps in a dormitory room. His basic pay is monthly; overtime is what he sends home. The law already gives him rest breaks and medical care. - Singapore’s heat stress framework for outdoor work requires rest under shade, regular drinking water and at least a week of acclimatisation, with hourly rest breaks of at least 15 minutes for heavy work in the highest heat stress. More measures become legal requirements from 1 December 2026. (Ministry of Manpower: heat stress measures for outdoor work, https://www.mom.gov.sg/heat-stress-measures-for-outdoor-work) - The Ministry of Manpower has taken enforcement action against workplaces found not meeting the heat measures, including for inadequate shaded rest breaks. (HRD Asia, https://www.hcamag.com/asia/specialisation/employment-law/more-than-75-worksites-found-non-compliant-with-singapores-enhanced-heat-stress-measures-report/499570) - Employers must pay for medical treatment of their Work Permit holders and hold at least S$60,000 of medical insurance a year for each. (Ministry of Manpower, written answer, 2025, https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-questions-and-replies/2025/1106-written-answer-to-pq-on-unpaid-medical-bills-incurred-by-work-permit-and-s-pass-holders) - Standards for new dormitories, announced in 2021, cap rooms at 12 residents and require enough fans for air circulation; existing dormitories are to be upgraded over time. (Ministry of Manpower, 2021, https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2021/0917-improved-standards-for-new-migrant-worker-dormitories) #### Thailand - Malee, Home-based garment worker: Malee sews garments at home, paid by the piece. Her room is also where she cooks and sleeps; in the afternoon heat, the work slows and the fan runs all day. - In a 2025 survey of more than 1,000 informal workers in Bangkok, nearly 80% cut their working hours because of heat, and three-quarters of home-based workers lost at least one working day a month to heat-related illness, their own or a family member’s. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Too-Hot-to-Work-Heat-Impacts-on-Home-Based-Workers-and-Street-Vendors-in-Bangkok.pdf) - Thailand’s health ministry counted 61 heatstroke deaths between January and early May 2024, more than in the whole of 2023. (WAM, 2024, https://www.wam.ae/en/article/b32zjgo-killed-heatstroke-far-this-year-thailand) - In April 2024 Bangkok warned that the heat index could rise above 52 °C, the ‘extremely dangerous’ level. (Mothership, 2024, https://mothership.sg/2024/04/bangkok-feels-like-52-c/) - Since October 2025, informal workers in the voluntary social security scheme (Section 40) receive 200 baht for an outpatient visit when a doctor orders at least a day of rest, for up to three visits a year. (Pattaya Mail, 2025, https://www.pattayamail.com/news/thai-government-expands-social-security-section-40-benefits-for-over-500000-informal-workers-533510) #### Vietnam - Lan, Rice farmer: Lan farms her family’s rice field and works on neighbours’ farms for a daily wage. In the dry season, salt water creeps up the canals; drinking water has to be stored or bought. - In early 2024 a long heatwave and drought brought salt water far inland in the Mekong Delta; about 73,900 households had limited access to fresh water. (Save the Children, 2024, https://www.savethechildren.net/news/vietnam-s-el-ni-o-induced-drought-leaves-about-73900-households-mekong-river-delta-limited) - In an earlier salinity crisis in Ben Tre, households bought fresh water for daily use at about ₫150,000–200,000 a cubic metre. (Tuoi Tre News, 2020, https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20200229/water-scarcity-hits-vietnams-mekong-delta-due-to-serious-salt-intrusion/53219.html) - A national study estimated nearly US$3 billion a year in crop losses from saltwater intrusion. (Malay Mail (AFP), 2024, https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2024/03/17/vietnam-faces-us3b-annual-crop-losses-from-rising-saltwater-levels/124009) - Health insurance covers about 93% of Vietnam’s population, and the state pays for cards for poor households. (Vietnam News, https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1178063/localities-asked-to-raise-health-insurance-coverage-to-over-95-per-cent-by-2025.html) Every worker here is a composite, not a real person. The numbers are examples in local currency a day; change them to match the people you work with. The tool adds up cash. It does not predict illness, productivity or payouts. - In Singapore, a study of 355 workers found each hot day cost a median S$21, about 24% of a day’s pay. (NUS Project HeatSafe, 2024, https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PRESS-RELEASE_Project-HeatSafe-18MAR2024-FOR-IMMEDIATE-RELEASE.pdf) - Of 721 Delhi street vendors surveyed in 2024, 80% saw fewer customers during heatwaves and 49% lost income. (Greenpeace India and National Hawkers Federation, 2024, https://www.greenpeace.org/india/en/press/16737/new-report-by-greenpeace-india-and-national-hawkers-federation-reveals-harsh-heatwave-toll-on-street-vendors/) - In Bangkok, nearly 80% of informal workers surveyed had cut their hours because of heat. (WIEGO and HomeNet Thailand, 2025, https://www.wiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WIEGO-Policy-Brief-33-Climate-Change-and-Heat-Stress.pdf) - Doctors at two Indian hospitals said more than 90% of their heat-illness patients in 2024 were outdoor workers. (Context (Thomson Reuters Foundation), 2024, https://www.context.news/climate-risks/ice-baths-and-ventilators-indias-hospitals-adapt-to-killer-heat) - Heat income insurance payments for women workers in India were reported in 2025 to take six to eight weeks. (NPR, July 2025, https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/07/16/g-s1-76948/hot-temperatures-insurance-gig-workers-india) - A heat insurance pilot for construction workers paid hospital cash only after a minimum stay of 48 hours. (People’s Courage International, 2025, https://www.peoplescourageinternational.org/pdfs/Emergency%20response%20to%20heat%20wave%20crisis%20in%20South%20and%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf) ## Paying for heat protection: who pays, how money arrives, and whether it lasts Protection only works if someone pays for it, the money arrives in time, and it is still there next season. Start from what needs paying for, not from a product. ### What needs paying for, and when is the money needed? - Shade, cooler buildings and water points: Public investment, grants or infrastructure finance. Who pays to build it, and who pays to run it afterwards? - Upkeep, staff and outreach: Recurring public, employer or programme budgets. Is the money there every season, not just the first? - Action before forecast heat: Pre-arranged anticipatory finance. Can money be released before people are harmed? - Lost income or disrupted services: Cash assistance, contingency reserves or suitable insurance. Will money arrive before people borrow or go back to unsafe work? - Households that stay vulnerable: Social protection and affordable essential services. What keeps supporting them between heatwaves? A way to compare routes, not a claim that every route exists in every country. ### Three triggers, not one - Warning trigger: Prompts an official heat advisory or warning. Usually the weather service, often with health authorities. - Action trigger: Switches on agreed measures: outreach, rest breaks, cooling spaces open. The heat plan’s lead office and each department. - Payout trigger: Decides whether a specific insurance contract pays. Set in the contract; the insurer or a calculation agent confirms it. The three need not match. Protective action works best when it does not wait for an insurance payout. ### Why can someone lose income to heat and get no payout? - Wrong place: The contract measures heat at a weather station or grid point, but the workplace or home is hotter. - Wrong measure: The index counts temperature, but humidity, heavy work or hot nights caused the harm. - Wrong amount: It pays, but a fixed amount that covers only part of what was lost. If the contract does not pay, what support is still there? Clear explanation prevents disappointment when a contract works as designed. It cannot fix a contract that leaves real losses uncovered. (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia, 2026, pp. 48–51, https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/) ### From trigger to protection Trigger confirmed → Fund holder paid → People receive support they can use → Protective action becomes possible When money goes first to a government, cooperative or microfinance institution, someone still has to decide who gets it. Count the date at every step, not only the day the insurer pays. (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia, 2026, pp. 52–53, https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/) ### Will it survive the next season? - Who pays next year’s premium and running costs? - What happens when donor money ends? - Who keeps the knowledge when staff change? - How will you review seasons with a payout, and without one? - What evidence would make you change it, or stop it? ### When heat reaches lenders Heat does not stop at the household. When people earn less in a heatwave, loan repayments slow, and the strain travels up to microfinance institutions and banks. A 2026 commentary sets out how, and what could help. - Heatwaves in 2025 reduced how much lenders collected in the June quarter across loan books that depend on field visits, with a similar squeeze projected for 2026 in northern and central India. - About 60% of India’s ₹3.81 trillion microfinance portfolio is in agriculture and allied activities, and eastern India, among the most climate-vulnerable regions, holds roughly a third of it. - The borrowers most exposed (microfinance clients, farming households, gold-loan borrowers and self-employed informal workers) are also the most financially vulnerable, because their income depends on outdoor work and moving around. - When collections slow, lenders face a cash crunch of their own and turn to costlier short-term funding; branch closures and fewer field visits in hot zones add to the strain. - The Reserve Bank of India now treats heatwaves as a prudential risk, and draft climate-risk disclosure directions ask banks to map and stress-test heat exposure, though compliance remains voluntary for some. - At least one large public-sector bank now counts heat among 13 key climate hazards and is building sector-by-sector vulnerability tools. What could help, in combination: - Parametric insurance: Payouts that arrive automatically when heat crosses a set threshold, so informal workers and smallholders have a buffer against lost income. SEWA’s heat cover for women informal workers is the leading Indian example. - Blended finance: Concessional or patient capital that takes early risk so commercial money can follow, for example into near-farm storage that cuts heat spoilage and lets farmers avoid distress sales. - Green and resilience bonds: Large, long-term capital for resilient public buildings, water and urban infrastructure; Indonesia’s sovereign Green Sukuk has raised over US$10 billion since 2018 for climate-resilient projects. - Shared heat-risk data: Standard, location-specific heat-risk information, such as the RBI’s Climate Risk Information System, so lenders can assess exposure without each building their own. - Lending tied to heat outcomes: Loan terms linked to measurable results such as lower indoor temperatures, lower peak power demand or more cool-roof coverage, rather than broad ESG scores. - City-level financing platforms: Pooling many small projects, such as cool roofs and efficient cooling for public buildings, into portfolios that banks and investors can finance, as municipal rooftop-solar bonds have done in Surat and New Delhi. The commentary’s central point: the financial system needs to move from financing vulnerability to financing resilience. Source: Namita Vikas, commentary, Mongabay India, 29 June 2026 https://india.mongabay.com/2026/06/indias-banks-are-sitting-on-a-heat-risk-they-have-barely-begun-to-price-commentary/ ### What has been tried #### Heat income cover for women informal workers (Gujarat and north-western India; Extreme heat) Who paid: Premiums were paid largely by Climate Resilience for All, with members contributing; reported amounts differ by source and year. Who received it: Members of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). Swiss Re reported more than 46,000 women paid after the May 2024 heatwaves. What it made possible: Cash for lost working days, alongside early warnings and low-cost protection such as shade tarps and cooling boxes. What it left out: The 2023 pilot’s threshold was set too high, so women got nothing on very hot days until it was lowered. In 2025 most payments were reported to take six to eight weeks. Did it continue? Grew from about 21,000 women in the 2023 pilot to 50,000 by 2025. No independent evaluation found. Lesson: Insurance worked as one part of a package. The threshold and the payment speed decide whether money helps when it is needed. Source: Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Physical risks on the insurance industry, 2026, p. 13 https://www.gaip.global/publications/physical-risks-on-the-insurance-industry/ Source: Swiss Re: the structure behind a parametric solution for SEWA https://www.swissre.com/our-business/public-sector-solutions/insights/parametric-structure-for-sewa-in-south-east-asia.html Source: NPR, 16 July 2025: on super hot days, this insurance plan pays out cash for lost wages https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/07/16/g-s1-76948/hot-temperatures-insurance-gig-workers-india #### Government cover that switched to its own disaster data (Lao PDR; Floods and other disasters, not heat) Who paid: The Government of Lao PDR, through the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF). Who received it: The government, for emergency response and budget planning. What it made possible: The first policy paid on a modelled count of people affected, which kept disagreeing with the government’s own figures. The renewed 2025–2027 policy pays on the national disaster office’s reported impact data, up to US$8 million a year. A US$2 million payout was made in September 2025, six days after the figures were finalised. What it left out: The report does not describe how the money then reached affected families. Did it continue? Renewed for 2025–2027 after the redesign. Lesson: Trust grows when the trigger uses data the government already relies on to run its response. A lesson about data, not heat evidence. Source: Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia, 2026, p. 51 https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/ Source: SEADRIF, 2025: lessons from Laos https://seadrif.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IDF_Case_Study_SEADRIF_Laos_2025.pdf #### Pay for days too dangerous to work (Philippines, 24 coastal municipalities; Wind, waves and rain, not heat) Who paid: The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources pays the premiums from its budget, as the policyholder. Who received it: About 14,200 registered small-scale fishers, up to US$100 per policy cycle. What it made possible: Income when weather makes fishing unsafe: it insures lost working days, not damaged boats. What it left out: Thresholds are not public, and results have not yet been reported; it launched in November 2025. Did it continue? A government-supported pilot. Lesson: The same logic heat income cover needs: pay for days too dangerous to work, with a public agency as policyholder so people who would never buy cover are reached. Source: Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia, 2026, p. 50 https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/ Source: WTW, November 2025: Willis and Rare launch insurance for fishers in the Philippines https://www.wtwco.com/en-my/news/2025/11/willis-and-rare-partners-to-launch-innovative-insurance-solution-for-fishers-in-the-philippines ### What this evidence can and can’t tell you These reports describe how insurance is regulated, designed and delivered in Asia. The parametric report did not assess consumer outcomes, pricing, contracts or how triggers performed, so it supports design questions, not proof that a heat product works. (Global Asia Insurance Partnership, Scaling Parametric Insurance in Asia, 2026, pp. 14–15, https://www.gaip.global/publications/scaling-parametric-insurance-in-asia/)