In Focus

A woman drinks water from a mug on a hot summer day in New Delhi, India June 9, 2023

What risks do we face because of rising heat?

Updated: July 25, 2025

Average temperatures are rising and deadly heatwaves are surging around the globe as ever-increasing use of coal, oil and gas powers climate change.

What can be done to limit the physical, mental, economic and social risks of rising heat? In countries from India to the United States to Iraq, we take a look at the risks and what can be done about them.

Latest

A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire as it burns during a windstorm on the west side of Los Angeles, California, U.S. January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu

Climate Risks How extreme heat affects wildfire risk

Juanita Pérez Sierra shades her face from the blistering sun on Comunidad Nuevo Lago’s “ranch,” seven acres of communal land residents use for big events like a recent quinciñera, in Fresno, California, U.S., July 1, 2025. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Rachel Parsons

Climate Risks Resident ownership helps US mobile homes weather climate change

Girls play in a shaded passage at the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School in Rajasthan, northwest India, designed by New York architect Diana Kellogg. Photo taken 2021 by Vinay Panjwani. Diana Kellogg Architects/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Green Cities How schools are being built for extreme heat - without aircon

Children study in a classroom in this illustration photo. The photo shows signs of heat in schools: a melting clock and school sign, a sign reading 37 degrees and a thermometer. One child holds a notepad over his head, one drinks water, and two others study at their desk. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Mayo Akin-Oteniya

Climate Risks School's out for summer: What does extreme heat do to children?

Grade 12 students use a portable electric fan and hand fans inside a classroom in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

Climate Risks Q&A: Heatwaves hit schools, putting millions of children at risk

Workers and advocates take part in a Washington event on June 19 in favor of a national workplace heat standard. Fired Up For Heat Justice | National COSH/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Money, Power & People In extreme heat, U.S. looks at worker protection standards

A woman collects fish from a fishing boat after it arrived on shore in Bali, Indonesia December 5, 2017. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak A/via REUTERS

Climate Risks As marine heatwaves intensify, Bali’s fishers hunt far and wide

Truck drivers sit near lines of aid trucks for Gaza waiting to be deployed, in Al Arish, Egypt, July 4, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky

Climate Risks Extreme heat poses new challenge for aid agencies in Gaza

A woman suffering from heat-related illness lies on a stretcher with her father next to her at a hospital in Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh, India, June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Climate Risks From the Philippines to Mali, countries struggle to count heat deaths

Sahil, a vegetable vendor, who only uses his fist name, sits at his shop in Noida, India, on June 20, 2024. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Bhasker Tripathi

Climate Risks Indian heatwave exposes a cooling challenge for fresh food

A medical attendant stands by an ice-making machine installed in the heatstroke care unit at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in Delhi, India. June 13, 2024. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Bhasker Tripathi

Climate Risks Ice baths and ventilators: India's hospitals adapt to killer heat

Narendra Singh, a water tanker driver, drives his truck to deliver water at low-income neighbourhoods in Delhi, India, June, 23, 2024. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Prabhat Mehrotra

Climate Risks Water tanker drivers a lifeline as Delhi gripped by extreme heat

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Hundreds of seafarers risk their lives manning the dark fleet, facing dangerous working conditions and low wages. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Karif Wat

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