Heat exposure cost India 160 billion labour hours, equivalent to 5.4% of GDP in 2021, report
The report also showed that climate stress is intensifying India’s already high baseline health vulnerabilities
A new report has revealed that heat exposure has cost India an estimated 160 billion labour hours, equivalent to 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2021 and pregnant women faced 6 additional days of dangerously high temperatures each year over the last five years.
ClimateRISE Alliance (CRA), in collaboration with Dasra, on Tuesday launched Under the Weather: India’s Climate-Health Intersections and Pathways to Resilience, has highlighted that from heat exposure and air pollution to worsening disease burdens and growing risks for vulnerable populations, climate stress is amplifying existing public health challenges while also imposing significant economic costs.
“India lost an estimated 160 billion labour hours to heat exposure, equivalent to 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2021, underlining how climate stress is affecting productivity and economic resilience. At the same time, air-pollution-related health losses account for 2 per cent of GDP annually, further deepening the climate-health-economic burden,” the report said.
The report also showed that climate stress is intensifying India’s already high baseline health vulnerabilities. Heatwaves are linked to an 11.7 per cent increase in cardiovascular-related death risk, a serious concern in a country where cardiovascular disease already accounts for around 28-30 per cent of all deaths.
Rising heat is also emerging as a significant maternal health concern. Over the last five years, pregnant women in India experienced an average of six additional days of dangerously high temperatures each year, while heatwaves are associated with a 16 per cent increase in the odds of preterm birth, alongside links to stillbirths and newborn hospitalisation.
The report pointed to the uneven distribution of climate impacts. “They interact with existing inequities and disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable, including women, children, informal workers, rural communities, and those with weaker access to healthcare. In this sense, climate stress acts as a multiplier, deepening existing burdens rather than creating entirely separate one,” it said.
