LSE Review Warns 70% of Workers Face Extreme Heat as South Asia Offers 45C Lessons
Updated
Updated · LSE Home · Jun 26
LSE Review Warns 70% of Workers Face Extreme Heat as South Asia Offers 45C Lessons
2 articles · Updated · LSE Home · Jun 26
Summary
LSE Business Review says Europe’s heatwave response should focus on workers and livelihoods, arguing extreme heat hits informal laborers and the poor hardest rather than affecting everyone equally.
70% of the global workforce is exposed to extreme heat, the article says, while studies estimate annual losses of 8% of GDP per capita in low-income countries and 3.5% in high-income ones.
Pakistan and India offer examples of both adaptation and its limits: Karachi’s 2015 heatwave killed about 1,300 people, while heat plans, cooling centers and school closures still leave many informal workers unable to stop working.
India has also expanded heat-risk insurance for informal workers, with products launched from 2023 to 2025 to compensate lost wages when temperatures exceed workable thresholds.
With Britain breaking June records and France closing schools and curbing services, the article argues Europe may need stronger cooling access, income protection and workplace heat rules as heatwaves become more common.
As heat cripples Europe, can India's radical insurance schemes protect its precarious workers?
Is private insurance a fix for deadly heat, or a distraction from real government action?
South Asia’s 2026 Heatwave: Human Cost, Inequality, and Urgent Solutions for a Region at Risk
Overview
South Asia’s April 2026 heatwave exposed the region’s deep vulnerabilities, as millions faced severe health risks and economic disruption due to extreme temperatures. Bangladesh and India were hit especially hard, with record-breaking heat straining public health systems and reducing productivity, particularly among informal workers who lack social protections. Limited access to cooling solutions left most people relying on passive methods, increasing their risk of illness. The crisis highlighted how climate change is intensifying extreme weather, threatening both human well-being and economic stability, and underscored the urgent need for coordinated adaptation strategies and stronger protections for the most vulnerable.