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UN Officials Urge Science-Backed Action on Escalating Heat Crisis
Experts met in Bangkok to talk about dangerous heat.
They said heat is already harming people and should not be treated only as a future problem.
Nearly 700 people attended the first Global Heat Forum.
They included scientists, health experts, business leaders and others.
The speakers said science should be turned into useful warnings and practical protection for people.
They also said communities need solutions suited to their local needs.
Sustainable cooling can help reduce the causes of warming, while adaptation can help people cope with heat.
Experts said plans should also protect food, electricity and homes.
The WMO warned that El Niño could affect temperatures and rainfall through February 2027.
At Bangkok Climate Action Week, UN and other experts called for urgent, science-backed measures to address heat.
The inaugural Global Heat Forum concluded on October 9 after bringing together nearly 700 participants from science, business, health and other fields.
World Meteorological Organization official Ben Churchill said heat is an immediate crisis requiring collective action to protect lives, livelihoods and economies.
Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll called for evidence-based interventions and early-warning systems, saying current responses are not keeping pace with the threat.
Experts urged both sustainable cooling and broader changes to protect food systems, energy grids and buildings; the WMO also warned of possible El Niño impacts through February 2027.
- Who
- UN officials, scientists and other participants at the Global Heat Forum, including Ben Churchill, James Abraham, Roxy Mathew Koll and Benjamin Hickman.
- What
- They called for urgent, science-backed action and systemic solutions to the heat crisis.
- Where
- Bangkok, Thailand, during Bangkok Climate Action Week.
- When
- The forum concluded on October 9; the article was published October 11, 2026.
- Why
- To protect lives and livelihoods and address heat's risks to health, economies, food systems, energy grids and the built environment.
Key facts
- Forum
- Inaugural Global Heat Forum
- Attendance
- Nearly 700 people
- Forum conclusion
- October 9
- Location
- Bangkok Climate Action Week
- WMO warning
- In September, the WMO said prevailing El Niño conditions were most likely to intensify into a very strong event and persist through February 2027.
- Potential El Niño effects
- The WMO said the event could substantially affect rainfall and temperature patterns, increasing risks of floods, drought and extreme heat.
- CEEW estimate
- James Abraham said each degree of temperature rise was associated with a 12 per cent GDP drop.
Quotes
Ben Churchill
Director of the World Meteorological Organisation’s regional office for Asia and the Pacific
“Heat is not a future problem; it’s a problem now, and it’s everybody’s business. Yet for many years it has never been anyone’s key responsibility. The forum has seen an unprecedented turnout, all wanting to find solutions and help scale them up.”
thehindubusinessline.com
James Abraham
CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water
“What we need to do is get down to every ward, location, person, and sector. That is the level at which this work must be done. That’s why our focus at CEEW is on getting granular data for specific sectors, so we can drive real, targeted impact.”
thehindubusinessline.com
Roxy Mathew Koll
Climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
“The key message from the forum, and from science, is that heat is coming faster than we think. It is coming in an intense form, much more frequently, for longer durations, and it is getting harder to escape as time passes. Our response is not as fast, intense or urgent as the way heat is capturing us.”
thehindubusinessline.com
Sources
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