World Bank: Sri Lanka Too Hot for Safe Outdoor Work Beyond 6 Hours

A new World Bank report warns that Sri Lanka, along with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, has already reached temperatures too high for people to safely work outdoors for more than six hours a day. The situation is projected to worsen, with extreme heat potentially limiting safe outdoor work to just eight or nine hours a week by 2050.

The findings are part of the World Bank’s book “From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia,” which outlines how climate extremes are already reshaping the region’s economies, health systems, and productivity.

South Asia faces some of the highest climate vulnerabilities among developing economies, with nearly 90% of its population expected to be exposed to extreme heat and over 20% at risk of severe flooding by 2030, according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative cited in the report.

Since 2015, an average of 67 million people per year have been impacted by natural disasters in South Asia. While flood-related deaths have declined, fatalities from extreme heat are on the rise.

The report stresses that agriculture is particularly at risk, with rising temperatures, water scarcity, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events threatening food systems. It also urges private sector involvement in climate adaptation as public budgets become increasingly strained.