Global Heat Forum in Bangkok urges heat action plans by 2030
Nearly 600 scientists, business leaders and health experts met in Bangkok to push heat governance, early warnings and investment as El Niño raises risks.
The story in focus
Nearly 600 scientists, business leaders, philanthropists and health experts gathered at the Global Heat Forum in Bangkok, where UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for heat action plans in every city by 2030 and participants launched tools to help governments and health services prepare for extreme heat.
- The Global Heat Forum convened nearly 600 participants in Bangkok from 6 to 9 October during Bangkok Climate Action Week.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for heat action plans in every city by 2030, backed by systems and resources.
- Organizers launched resources including a heat and health evidence report, the What Works Against Heat platform and a roadmap carrying heat action into COP31 in Antalya.
Forum seeks coordinated heat governance
Nearly 600 scientists, business leaders, philanthropists and health experts met in Bangkok for the Global Heat Forum, organized by the Global Heat Health Information Network, the World Meteorological Organization, the Asian Development Bank, Bangkok Climate Action Week, ClimateWorks Foundation, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, the Climate & Health Funders Coalition, The Rockefeller Foundation and Wellcome. The forum ran from 6 to 9 October alongside Bangkok Climate Action Week.
In remarks to the forum, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said cities worldwide had established heat action plans and strengthened worker protections since his Call to Action on Extreme Heat two years earlier, but that developing countries lack support. He called on every city to build lasting defences involving health, housing, energy and transport, with heat action plans in place by 2030 backed by systems and resources.
Warnings and health evidence
The WMO said this year's heatwaves in Asia, Europe and North America affected the economy, fuelled deadly wildfires and increased air pollution, and that a strengthening El Niño ahead of the southern hemisphere summer looks set to bring more extreme heat. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said bodies, infrastructure, farms and homes are not designed for current temperatures, and that forecasts must give health services, employers and communities time to prepare.
According to 2025 estimates cited by the WMO, scaling heat-health warning systems could protect 1.5 billion people and avert nearly 100,000 deaths each year. The forum opened with the launch of resources including an executive summary of a report on heat and health evidence, the What Works Against Heat platform, a Global Call to Action on Heat and Women's Health, a roadmap carrying heat action work into COP31 in Antalya, and first country-level heat and health assessments for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
What did the Global Heat Forum launch?
It launched heat action resources including a heat and health evidence report summary, the What Works Against Heat platform, a call to action on heat and women's health, an investment roadmap for COP31 and South Asia country assessments.
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