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Extreme heat threatens lives, livelihoods of workers in Bangladesh: Report


Published : 22 Jul 2025 10:37 AM

Extreme heat driven by the human-induced climate emergency is endangering the lives and livelihoods of urban workers in Bangladesh, Climate Rights International said in a new 172-page report published on Tuesday.

Inside garment factories, on construction sites, and in the middle of city streets, workers are fainting, falling ill, and even dying in extreme temperatures, with little protection from the government, employers, or the multinational corporations that profit from their labor.

“The clothes we wear every day, including the ones you’re wearing right now, may have been sewn by someone who collapsed or lost consciousness on the job, cried from exhaustion, or suffered long-term health consequences from working in an unbearably hot and humid factory without access to cooling or safe drinking water for hydration,” said Brad Adams, Executive Director at Climate Rights International.

“Clothing brands and the factories that supply them need to take urgent steps to provide additional breaks, access to cooling, and hydration.”

“My Body Is Burning”: Extreme Heat and Labor Rights in Bangladesh, exposes a crisis unfolding at the intersection of climate change and labor exploitation.

Climate Rights International interviewed over 50 workers across three of the most heat-exposed industries in Dhaka, all of whom described suffering from a range of heat-related health problems – including dehydration, itchiness, headaches, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of muscle control, temporary vision loss, chest pain, heart palpitations, and loss of consciousness.

The report documents the experiences of garment, construction, and transportation workers in Dhaka suffering from extreme heat – recounting stories in their own words – and shows how systemic labor rights abuses are making it almost impossible for these workers to protect themselves.

UN chief calls for global action on extreme heat

Though China, the U.S., Gulf States, and European countries are primarily responsible for the emissions that have fueled the climate crisis, Bangladesh is among the countries hardest hit by its impacts.

The capital, Dhaka, is uniquely vulnerable to heat impacts and has experienced record-breaking temperatures in recent years. In 2025, the heat index in Dhaka reached almost 48°C (around 118°F), triggering a city-wide health advisory.

“Bangladesh is being hit hard by extreme heat resulting from a climate emergency it did almost nothing to cause,” said Adams.

“This crisis is being driven by the relentless greenhouse gas pollution of wealthy, industrialized countries, and fossil fuel companies – while frontline communities, including those in international supply chains, are left to suffer, with the fewest resources to cope. This is climate injustice in a nutshell.”

Labor Rights Abuses as Barriers to Adaptation

For many of Dhaka’s workers, avoiding the heat isn’t an option. Climate Rights International found that many workers were forced to continue their jobs in extreme conditions.

Most workers interviewed had either fainted in the heat themselves or witnessed a colleague collapse on the job.

Several workers reported losing consciousness more than once. Some workers had even watched colleagues die in the heat.

Workers suffered mentally and emotionally in the extreme temperatures, reporting feelings of confusion, desperation, hopelessness, and anxiety – some crying while at work. Several shared that they believed they might die on the job.

Climate Rights International found that these impacts often resulted in productivity losses, as workers reported moving and working more slowly in the heat, with some needing to work as much as 50 percent more time to complete tasks during the hot season.

Others had to cut shifts short due to heat-related illness, forfeiting pay they couldn’t afford to lose.

The harms of occupational heat exposure are being made worse by systemic labor rights abuses, many of which limit workers’ ability to protect themselves from the heat.

CRI documented numerous reports of forced and unpaid overtime; denial of breaks, even in extremely hot conditions; and verbal abuse and threats in response to slowing down or attempting to rest as a result of heat exhaustion or related illness.

Many workers lacked access to toilets at their worksites, experienced pressures not to use the bathroom frequently, or feared that the water supply at work was unsafe.

These challenges led some workers to deliberately restrict their water intake so as not to have to use the bathroom as frequently, leading to dehydration, urinary tract infections, and increasing their risk of other, more severe heat-related health issues.

Workers told CRI that they were afraid to speak up about these abuses, and about their suffering in the heat, for fear of retaliation.

In combination, these abuses left workers with limited options to protect themselves from extreme temperatures and ultimately compounded the safety risks of the heat, Climate Rights International said.

Without the implementation of effective workplace adaptation measures, heat exposure will continue to make already dangerous working conditions worse, compounding vulnerabilities for Dhaka’s workers.

Lack of Corporate Accountability

Multinational corporations play a part in these conditions. Some international clothing brands that source from Bangladesh continue to demand short production timelines and low prices, pushing factories to overwork employees with little regard for conditions on the ground.

Almost none take effective steps to ensure their suppliers protect workers from the risks of extreme heat.

A small number of companies, including VF Corporation, the parent company of major brands like The North Face, Vans, and Timberland, have embedded heat protections into their supplier codes of conduct.

Yet even in supply chains where some heat-protections are mandated by a code of conduct, it is clear that additional efforts are needed, and that enforcement must be tightened.

CRI spoke with workers who claimed their factories supplied a number of brands, including VF, H&M, C&A, Walmart, Primark, and New Look, that are taking at least some steps intended to protect workers from hot workplace conditions.

All of those workers told CRI that, despite the measures brands are taking, they continue to suffer in the heat.

Gig and Construction Workers

Meanwhile, app delivery platforms operating in Dhaka provide few protections for gig workers, who bike long distances and carry heavy loads through peak heat conditions in exchange for poverty wages and limited benefits.

CRI spoke with workers from foodpanda, a subsidiary of Delivery Hero, who described the physical, emotional, and financial hardship of delivery work in extreme heat conditions.

Construction companies in the city are similarly failing to protect workers from rising temperatures, and failing to provide safe water and bathroom access at job sites, making it practically impossible for workers to stay properly hydrated at work.

Inadequate Government Action

Bangladeshi labor law does little to stop these abuses.

Though the domestic legal landscape includes a number of regulations intended to protect worker health and safety, existing protections do not fully account for the growing threat of extreme heat.

Moreover, these regulations are often unevenly enforced and, critically, fail to adequately protect the informal sector, which accounts for roughly 85 percent of the national workforce.

To address the growing extreme heat crisis, the Bangladeshi government needs to strengthen climate and labor protections, including for the informal sector, through measures such as developing and enforcing a national standard for heat management in the workplace.

As outlined in both the Paris Agreement and Dhaka City’s current adaptation plans, effective execution of these and other climate adaptation efforts in Bangladesh will depend on financial support from high-income countries most responsible for the climate crisis.

At the same time, multinational companies need to take responsibility for climate-proofing their supply chains and ensuring safe conditions for the workers they rely on.

This report comes at a pivotal moment for Bangladesh. In the wake of the August 2024 deposition of the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina, who stands accused of atrocity crimes, public demand for reform is strong, and the interim government is responding, in part by taking long-overdue steps to improve workplace safety across the country.

The Ministry of Labor is expected to sign key International Labour Organization conventions on occupational health in the coming months – ones that the country had previously failed to ratify.

As national elections quickly approach, and as temperatures in the region continue to rise, it is clear that this next phase of national rebuilding efforts will provide a rare opportunity to embed meaningful protections for workers into law.

“Businesses and governments have an obligation to protect workers from the growing threat of extreme heat,” said Cara Schulte, author of the new report.

"Employers and multinational corporations should work in tandem with the Bangladesh government to monitor heat safety, protect workers, and uphold their rights. Doing so will be critical to the future of public health, worker well-being, and the global economy.”