South Asia Heatwave Crisis (2025–2026)
Recent Developments
01May 2026: WHO and WMO announced new South Asia heat initiatives, including the South Asia Climate–Health Desk and South Asia Scientific Research Consortium, to strengthen early warning and health response systems.
022026: World Weather Attribution reported that the April heatwave in northwestern India and Pakistan was made both hotter and more likely by climate change, with at least 37 deaths in India and 10 in Karachi, Pakistan.
032025: Berkeley Earth estimated that 770 million people worldwide experienced locally record warm annual averages, with major concentration in Asia and significant populations in Pakistan and other Asian countries.
042026: WMO said Asia is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, intensifying extreme heat risks across the region.
Interventions
- WHO-WMO Climate and Health Joint Programme, including the South Asia Climate–Health Desk, to translate weather and climate information into health action.
- South Asia Scientific Research Consortium, supported by Rockefeller Foundation funding, to develop tailored heat-risk thresholds and improve heat action planning.
- Regional heat-health and early warning efforts under the Global Heat Health Information Network and related WMO-WHO initiatives.
What Works
- Heat early warning systems linked to health response can reduce harm by enabling authorities to issue alerts, prepare hospitals, and target vulnerable groups before dangerous heat peaks.
- Heat action plans that include public cooling centers, expanded water access, and worker protections are recommended by climate and health agencies as practical measures to reduce heat-related illness and deaths.
How to Help
- Support reputable organizations working on climate-health adaptation and heat preparedness, such as WHO-linked or local public-health and disaster-response partners.
- Advocate for stronger national heat action plans, worker protections, urban cooling, and investment in early warning systems in South Asia.
- Volunteer or donate through local emergency response, health, or climate adaptation NGOs supporting vulnerable communities during heatwaves.
Make an Impact
Donate directly to 9 verified organizations working on this crisis. Every contribution makes a difference.
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(17)
AIDMI collaborates with local governments, NGOs, and communities to develop and implement heat action plans that include early warning systems, public awareness campaigns, and capacity-building activities. They conduct research on heat-related health risks, promote heat-resistant infrastructure, and advocate for policies to reduce heat-related mortality and morbidity while improving community resilience in India and across South Asia.
In Nepal, Practical Action develops heatwave early warning and early action systems to strengthen community resilience against urban heat islands and extreme heat events. Their work focuses on climate-resilient practices, evidence-based interventions, and capacity building tailored to South Asian contexts.
GHHIN is establishing a South Asia Regional Heat Action Hub in 2025 to convene stakeholders from government, academia, civil society, and private sectors across at least four countries. The hub facilitates knowledge exchange, drives policy change, implements practical interventions, and strengthens local capacity to manage extreme heat risks, with funding and technical support provided for 2025-2028.
Supports locally-led heat resilience solutions in South Asia through funding proven interventions, focusing on extreme heat in urban areas as part of the BeatTheHeat.Asia digital ecosystem, which connects funders, NGOs, policymakers, and communities to protect vulnerable populations from extreme heat.
