Set in post-apocalyptic Dhaka, Nuhash Humayun’s Moshari became the first Bangladeshi film to qualify for the Oscars last year. The spine-tingling thriller follows two sisters and their fight for survival, but for the film’s co-producer, Bushra Afreen, the horror fiction felt closer to reality.

“There was so much that resonated with my own experiences,” says Afreen, who grew up in Bangladesh, which has long been on the frontline of the climate crisis. “Our film was about many things, including a metaphor for how climate change can rob women and girls of their childhood and innocence, and push them into survival mode.”

With temperatures in Asia rising at twice the global average rate, Afreen must now cope with the effects of extreme heat in her home city, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Since the film’s premiere, she has taken on a new role, the first of its kind in Asia: chief heat officer for Dhaka North.

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Scientists believe global warming has made such heatwaves at least 30 times more likely for Bangladesh and India. “Dhaka has always been hot but now the dangers posed by heatwaves are much more acute,” says Afreen.

“Between climate change and rapid urbanisation, we have ended up with rising temperatures and very few green spaces and shade to provide relief from the heat.”

Green spaces are a significant component of urban planning that are often overlooked in Bangladesh. A recent study found that spaces such as parks, urban woodland and other vegetation – crucial for controlling temperatures in a city – have shrunk by 66% over the last three decades in Dhaka North City Corporation, where Afreen’s father, Atiqul Islam, is mayor.

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As heat and humidity increases with climate change, it is expected to double heat-related pressures on labour productivity in Bangladesh and could threaten the country’s economic development.

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As temperatures continue to rise, as in so many places across the world, women in Bangladesh may bear the disproportionate burden of heat’s devastating physical, social, and financial effects.

“An unequal share of unpaid work makes it harder for women in the informal sector to access or succeed in the labour market, leading to lower productivity and lower salaries,” says Afreen.

“Extreme heat is also contributing to a rise in gender-based violence and severe health issues for women.”

Protective and preventive actions that safeguard women are urgently needed. “When we understand the impacts of extreme heat and invest in gender-informed solutions, only then can we build toward a cooler, more equitable future – especially for women and girls,” says Afreen