Sri Lanka lost the equivalent of more than 120,000 full-time jobs in 2023 due to rising workplace heat stress, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The alarming figure underscores the growing economic toll that climate change is imposing on developing nations, with Sri Lanka emerging as one of the most vulnerable countries in South Asia. As global temperatures continue to climb, the intersection of extreme heat and worker productivity is rapidly becoming one of the most pressing economic challenges of the decade.
What the ILO Report Reveals
The ILO report highlights how dangerously high temperatures are forcing workers across multiple sectors to slow down, take extended breaks, or stop working altogether during peak heat hours. These disruptions, when calculated across the entire workforce, translate into a staggering loss equivalent to over 120,000 full-time jobs in a single year. This figure represents not just lost wages for individual workers, but a significant contraction in national economic output at a time when Sri Lanka is still recovering from its worst financial crisis in decades.
Heat stress occurs when the human body cannot cool itself efficiently enough to maintain a safe core temperature. For outdoor and manual workers, prolonged exposure to extreme heat leads to fatigue, reduced concentration, heat exhaustion, and in severe cases, life-threatening heatstroke. The ILO's findings make clear that these health impacts carry direct and measurable economic consequences that governments and employers can no longer afford to ignore.
Which Sectors Are Most Affected
Sri Lanka's agriculture, construction, and manufacturing sectors bear the heaviest burden of heat-related productivity losses. Agricultural workers, who often labor in open fields under direct sunlight for extended hours, are among the most exposed. Tea and rubber plantation workers, who form a significant portion of Sri Lanka's rural workforce, face particularly harsh conditions during hotter months. Similarly, construction workers operating on open sites and factory employees in poorly ventilated facilities experience significant drops in output as temperatures rise.
The garment and textile industry, one of Sri Lanka's most important export sectors and a major employer of women, is also increasingly affected. Many factories struggle with inadequate cooling infrastructure, leaving workers in sweltering conditions that reduce both their efficiency and their wellbeing. The cumulative effect across these industries compounds into the massive job-equivalent loss that the ILO has now formally documented.
The Broader Economic Impact
The loss of 120,000 job equivalents carries serious implications for Sri Lanka's broader economic recovery. The country has been working to stabilize its economy following the 2022 financial crisis, which saw foreign exchange reserves collapse, fuel shortages paralyze daily life, and inflation reach historic highs. In this fragile recovery environment, any additional drag on productivity and output poses a genuine threat to growth targets and debt repayment obligations.
Reduced worker productivity means lower household incomes, reduced consumer spending, and diminished tax revenues for the government. For an economy that depends heavily on exports generated by heat-exposed industries, the long-term trajectory is deeply concerning. If global temperatures continue to rise as projected, the ILO warns that these losses will not only persist but accelerate in the years ahead, potentially erasing hard-won economic gains.
Climate Change and Sri Lanka's Vulnerability
Sri Lanka's geographical location and tropical climate make it particularly susceptible to the effects of rising global temperatures. The island nation already experiences high humidity levels that amplify the physiological impact of heat on the human body. Even modest increases in average temperatures can push working conditions beyond safe thresholds for millions of laborers who have no choice but to continue working to support their families.
Climate scientists have consistently ranked South Asia as one of the regions most at risk from extreme heat events. Sri Lanka, alongside countries like Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, faces the prospect of increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves that could make outdoor labor virtually impossible during certain months of the year without significant adaptation measures.
What Needs to Be Done
The ILO report calls on governments, employers, and international partners to take urgent and coordinated action to protect workers from heat stress. Recommended measures include introducing heat-safe working hour policies, improving workplace ventilation and cooling infrastructure, establishing early warning systems for extreme heat events, and ensuring that workers have access to adequate hydration and rest periods.
For Sri Lanka specifically, integrating heat stress protections into national labor laws and occupational health standards would represent a critical first step. Employers in high-risk sectors must also be incentivized and supported to invest in heat adaptation measures that protect both their workforce and their long-term productivity.
The findings from the ILO serve as a stark reminder that climate change is not a distant environmental concern — it is an immediate economic reality reshaping livelihoods across Sri Lanka today. Addressing heat stress in the workplace is no longer optional; it is essential to the country's economic survival and the wellbeing of its working people.