Extreme heat is a growing, under-recognised public health crisis in Southeast Asia. Beyond episodic heatwaves, chronic exposure to high temperatures, exacerbated by humidity, rapid urbanisation, ageing populations, and socio-economic inequities, erodes physical and mental health, sleep, productivity, and strains healthcare and agriculture. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly, farmers, outdoor workers, and young children, face disproportionate risks, yet impacts are frequently unseen due to limited integration of health and environmental data. Consequences range from excess mortality and cardio-renal-metabolic disease to diminished quality of life and overall wellbeing.

Addressing the interconnected challenges of extreme heat requires a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach. This side event convenes government, communities, businesses, and experts across health, labour, meteorology, and other sectors to accelerate coordinated action. It will share evidence and best practices to co-develop heat governance strategies and context-specific, holistic interventions. Two sector-focused discussions—agriculture and children—will translate insights into practical, scalable solutions for policy and practice.

This side event is linked with Sub-theme 3: Governing Health for People and Planet: Geopolitics in Flux, particularly as climate-driven extreme weather events has been identified as a top global risk. The side event addresses the theme’s aspects of extreme heat as a planetary health threat, strengthening of governance frameworks to address climate resilience, and issues of health inequity, demographic transitions, and inclusive policies for vulnerable groups (Sub-theme 1.5).