Bangladesh: Early action protocol for heat events
Categories: Action Line 1: Surveillance and monitoring, Integrated risks, monitoring, early warning, and GHG emissions tracking, Heat and cold
Country: Bangladesh
Organizations: The Rockefeller Foundation, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS)
The intervention
Bangladesh faces increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves due to climate change, exacerbated by poverty, informal housing, and occupational exposure. Dhaka, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, is especially vulnerable. In response, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), with disaster preparedness and response partners, developed an Early Action Protocol (EAP) to protect health during extreme heat events. The EAP establishes clear triggers based on forecast thresholds, predefined actions once triggers are met, and forecast-based financing mechanisms to ensure timely implementation. This approach enables rapid mobilisation of resources and life-saving interventions ahead of heatwave impacts.
Success factors
The EAP was first activated in April 2024 during Dhaka’s longest-recorded heatwave. Over 13 days, BDRCS and partners implemented pre-planned actions that reached more than one million residents. Three cooling centres provided medical and psychosocial support to 15,000 individuals, while 30,000 received safe drinking water at critical locations. Awareness messages were disseminated through 129 local wards, and 4,000 vulnerable households received multipurpose cash assistance, including targeted support for persons with disabilities. This proactive, forecast-based response significantly reduced health impacts and demonstrated the potential of anticipatory action in mitigating climate-induced heat risks in urban settings
Recommendations
The formulation of an EAP heatwaves should be informed by experts that are familiar with the country’s climate and terrain. The “trigger” or specific threshold value for heatwaves is highly dependent upon meteorological data and risk data specific to the region. As such, it is important to have accurate and verifiable data collection and dissemination processes. It is also recommended that the funding mechanisms for pre-defined actions be clear and easy to access when it is necessary to do so. During a heatwave, it is essential that response mechanisms function effectively and efficiently to minimise the damage to human health caused. Hence, funding mechanisms must be responsive when activated.
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