A new World Bank report lays bare a stark reality: extreme heat is quietly erasing the equivalent of 31 million full-time jobs across South Asia every year. As temperatures climb faster than ever, the region's workforce—from rickshaw drivers in Dhaka to garment workers in Phnom Penh—is bearing the cost in lost productivity, income, and health. The report, published Wednesday, warns that without adaptation, rising temperatures could shrink South Asia's GDP by 7 percent by 2050, the steepest loss among developing regions. Main Developments Extreme heat is already taking a measurable toll on South Asia's economy. Workers slow down, stop early, or fall ill, and heat-related failures in power, transport, and buildings ripple through incomes, investment, and output. In Bangladesh alone, heat-induced productivity losses in 2024 cost the country $1.3–$1.8 billion, or the equivalent of 0.3–0.4 percent of GDP. The human cost is equally stark. By 2070, roughly 520 million people in the region will face a month or more of dangerous heat each year—four times as many as today. Exposure will be concentrated in cities that trap heat long after sunset, remaining more than 10 degrees Celsius hotter at night than the surrounding countryside. The poorest bear the brunt: informal workers' earnings fall about 40 percent during heatwaves. Read also: Charli XCX's Defining Shoe Moments of 2026, Ranked by Impact Beyond the heat, labor rights battles are playing out across the region. In Taiwan, migrant workers who paid hundreds or thousands of dollars in recruitment fees have received more than $4 million in reimbursements from suppliers and some buyers, with repayments on track to reach almost $6 million, according to Transparentem's update Thursday. The repayments follow the New York nonprofit's investigation into forced labor and other abuses in Taiwan's textile industry. Broader changes are taking hold in Taiwan. The textile industry association now recommends that factories cover all recruitment costs, and the government has pledged to ban worker-paid recruitment fees within three years. Taiwan's main oversight agency, prompted by Transparentem's report, found the industry's abuse-fighting efforts were failing and called for reform. Yet progress has been "unacceptably slow," Transparentem said. Some workers have left factories and may not be located for repayment; others still employed have not received all they are due because employers are repaying gradually. Many buyers have not contributed to fee repayment, prolonging the process. The organization added that buyers and suppliers have failed to both prevent problems and plan for foreseeable risks. In Cambodia, a rare victory emerged: three garment workers fired after forming a union at a South Korean-owned factory have reached an out-of-court settlement, ending a yearslong labor dispute, according to the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights. Background South Asia has been getting hotter for years, but the pace has accelerated sharply, especially in the last two decades, the World Bank said. The region's reliance on informal labor and outdoor work makes it particularly vulnerable to heat stress, while rapid urbanization is creating heat islands that amplify nighttime temperatures. The Taiwan case stems from a 2024 investigation by Transparentem that exposed widespread recruitment fee abuses in the textile supply chain. Workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam paid thousands of dollars to secure jobs, often borrowing at high interest, only to face forced labor conditions. The investigation prompted months of efforts from buyers, suppliers, and industry associations to remediate. The Cambodia settlement is notable because such out-of-court resolutions are rare in the country's garment sector, where union formation often leads to retaliation. The case highlights the ongoing tension between labor rights and factory management in South Asia's manufacturing hubs. Why It Matters The World Bank's findings underscore that heat resilience is not just an environmental issue but a development imperative. "For the World Bank Group, heat resilience is part of a broader development agenda: protecting people, strengthening infrastructure, supporting jobs, mobilizing private capital and helping cities adapt to a changing climate," the report states. "The choices made in the coming years will determine whether South Asia's urban growth deepens vulnerability or builds resilience." For the apparel and footwear industry, which relies heavily on South Asian factories, the stakes are direct. Heat-induced productivity losses translate into delayed orders, higher costs, and strained supply chains. Meanwhile, labor abuses like recruitment fees undermine the industry's sustainability claims and expose buyers to reputational and legal risks. The uneven burden of heat falls on the most vulnerable. Informal workers—who make up the majority of South Asia's workforce—see their