People in India each experienced nearly 20 heatwave days in 2024 on average, of which about six-and-a-half days would not be expected were it not for climate change, according to a new global report published by The Lancet journal.

Estimates suggest that an exposure to heat in 2024 resulted in a loss of 247 billion potential labour hours per year — a record high of nearly 420 hours per person — and 124% more than that during 1990-1999.

The agriculture sector accounted for 66%, and the construction sector for 20% of the losses in 2024, according to the '2025 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change'.

A reduced capacity of labour due to the extreme heat is associated with a potential loss of income of US $194 billion in 2024, it said.

An international team of 128 exper

See Full Page