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?

Published: September 21, 2022

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.

Hear from two of the best climate journalists in the business with our weekly newsletter, 'Climate. Change.'

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A person cools off in a water feature in Domino Park as a heat wave hit the region in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.

Green Cities As U.S. bakes, mapping shows Black, Latino areas feel more heat

An Amazon delivery worker pulls a delivery cart full of packages during its annual Prime Day promotion in New York City, U.S., June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Big Tech As California sizzles, Amazon drivers feel the heat over metrics

A delivery driver waits with people at a traffic light in Beijing, China, July 14, 2022

Socioeconomic Inclusion Heatwave bonus for Asia's food delivery drivers does little to keep them safe

A girl cools off in a fountain in Nice as a heat wave hits France

Climate Risks Heatwave relief: What can hot countries teach us about keeping cool?

A cyclist rides through Richmond Park at sunrise during a heatwave in London

Net Zero As 1.5C warming limit nears, interest in sun-dimming tech heats up

Boys cool off under a water fountain on a hot summer evening in New Delhi, India, April 25, 2016

Climate Risks Hit by heatwaves, cities test fresh ways to cool residents

A worker pours molten iron from a ladle to make automobile spare parts inside an iron casting factory in Ahmedabad, India, January 31, 2019

Climate Risks Indian workers suffer as heat waves turn factories into 'furnaces'

A view of the Sixty Dome Mosque, part of Mosque City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagherhat, in southern Bangladesh, May 4, 2022

Climate Risks Bangladesh's historic coastal mosques feel climate change's bite

A local woman sits atop of an open cast coal field at Dhanbad district in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand September 20, 2012

Climate Risks As heat cuts power in India's 'coal capital', locals seek fair energy share

Fruit seller Mohammad Ikrar waits for customers during an intense heatwave in Noida, India, May 18, 2022

Climate Risks Severe heatwave in India exposes gaps in access to cooling tech

Alamin, 12, whose family lost their home to climate change-driven erosion, works as part of a shipbreaking crew in Keraniganj, close to Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 22, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Mosabber Hossain

Climate Risks Climate disasters drive Bangladesh children from classrooms to work

Farmer Qasim Abdul Wahad looks at one of his date palms which are struggling due to salination and lack of water near the village of Abu Al-Khaseeb in southern Iraq’s Basra governorate, March 6, 2022

Climate Risks Iraq's farmers pushed off land as drought and heat cripple crops

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Women coal loaders pose for a picture in Jharia coalfield, India, November 10, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Tanmoy Bhaduri

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