Thought of the Day

Extreme Heat Scorches Asia


 
15 October 2025
 
From 1994-2003 there were 4,755 days of excessive heat, defined as 35c+, across the world’s twenty most populous capital cities. That has now grown to nearly 6,500 days in the most recent decade. The densely-populated capitals of South, Southeast and West Asia have predominately experienced this increasing heat stress.

Total Number of Days of 35c+ Temperatures in Select Capitals
Data is ranked by highest number of days of 35c+ temperatures experienced in the most recent decade.
Extreme Heat Scorches Asia
Extreme Heat Scorches Asia


Based on a linear annual trendline across these three decades, the number of days of extreme heat experienced has increased by almost a third in New Delhi, the capital of India, since 1994. Other capitals have experienced even larger increases. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), at 33-34c, workers operating at moderate intensity lose half of their labour capacity. More days of extreme heat will therefore be increasingly damaging to economic activity. ILO projections show that, by the end of this decade, working hours equivalent to 80 million jobs may be lost. More than half of these losses are likely to be suffered by South Asia, and notably in India.  See more temperature data...


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