26
Jan

Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), are in a period of demographic opportunity with large working-age populations and declining dependency ratios. These favorable shifts, combined with gains in health, education, and social protection, have fueled over three decades of economic growth averaging above 6 percent. Yet this opportunity is increasingly at risk. Extreme heat, which is rising in frequency, duration, and intensity across South Asia, undermines productivity by increasing the prevalence of physical and mental health conditions that reduce work capacity and labor force participation. In LMICs like Bangladesh and India, where a large share of the workforce is informal and engaged in low-skilled wage labor under poor conditions, vulnerability to heat exposure is particularly acute. By drawing on new empirical evidence from both countries, and engaging senior policymakers, this session will highlight how extreme heat threatens to stifle the demographic dividend and explore strategies to safeguard human capital and productivity under climate stress.