When temperatures climb, Bangladeshi garment worker Nasrin Begum reaches for hydration salts, lemons and coconuts, spending more than 1,000 taka a month of her 14,000 taka ($113.96) salary just to keep her body functioning during her shifts.
It is money she cannot really spare, but for Begum, staying cool is not optional. It is survival.
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Begum, 32, is one of Bangladesh’s 4 million or so garment and textile workers who have to set aside part of their meagre income to bear with the hazards of rising heat.
Peak summer temperatures in Bangladesh have increased by 1.1 degree Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1980, slightly faster than the global average of 0.8 Celsius to 1 Celsius, according to a World Bank study released in 2025. High humidity has pushed the feels-like temperature up by 4.5 Celsius, the study found.
