Humanitarian Justice in a Warming World: Rethinking Equity, Protection, and Response to Extreme Heat

Extreme heat is no longer seen as just a future concern for South Asia. It is a current and growing reality that is reshaping risk, widening inequality, and testing how just humanitarian systems are. As temperatures rise in the summer of 2026, HOISA hosted an important discussion on humanitarian justice. Panelists and the audience asked a fundamental question: who is protected and who is left behind?

This question is central to a growing body of work on humanitarian justice, led by HOISA and the work of Vishal Pathak. Drawing on more than 26 HOISA engagements in community, policy, and regional settings, this work challenges traditional crisis response methods and calls for a deeper understanding of the inequality inherent in humanitarian work in South Asia.

The Istanbul Declaration on Humanitarian Justice calls for humanitarian responses that are accountable to affected communities and grounded in dignity and fairness. It insists that affected populations in South Asia are active agents of knowledge, resilience, and renewal, as opposed to simply aid recipients.

Beyond Aid: Readings from the Lens of Justice and Need for Transformation 

Traditional humanitarian systems mainly focus on prioritizing delivery of aid and assistance, while a justice-based approach looks at whether assistance reaches people fairly – beyond the present social inequalities. To make this change, HOISA has established three interconnected platforms: knowledge exchange across sectors, field-based learning with affected communities, and justice-oriented dialogue among stakeholders from India to South Asia. These platforms connect community experiences with policy discussions.

At the analytical level, a four-dimensional framework (inclusion, equity, access, and accountability) is used to evaluate how systems deliver. The findings are concerning for the humanitarian agenda in South Asia.

A persistent gap exists in structural justice. Key issues like data access, social invisibility, and uneven recognition of vulnerability are repeatedly neglected. These factors determine who receives early warnings, who gets support, and who is excluded, and why?

The impacts of extreme heat are neither random nor evenly distributed. They hit hardest among urban low-income populations, climate-exposed areas, and coastal and ecologically fragile zones. However, exposure alone does not define vulnerability. Risk is influenced by the conditions in which people live and work—informal jobs, poor infrastructure, and limited access to public safety systems.

In this way, climate change reinforces and widens existing social and economic inequalities. Unequal exposure, access, and ability to adapt turn environmental stress into an ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Heat, Displacement, and Water Crisis – Case Studies from Bangladesh and South Sudan 

These challenges are especially evident in displacement settings. Research by Padmini Iyer, in collaboration with Oxfam and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, shows how extreme heat intersects with displacement in Bangladesh and South Sudan.

Globally, nearly two-thirds of forcibly displaced people live in countries highly vulnerable to climate impacts. Camps and settlements are often located in areas prone to hazards, where extreme heat is not a rare shock but an ongoing challenge. The research highlights a crucial but often overlooked aspect: extreme heat is felt most sharply through water insecurity.

In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh—home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations—water demand has sharply increased while groundwater levels keep dropping. In Renk County, South Sudan, displaced communities depend on open water sources that are quickly running dry and easily contaminated.

Padmini points out that in both places, water is becoming scarce, unsafe, and expensive. Humanitarian standards—like minimum daily water access—are becoming hard to maintain. This results in consequences affecting health, sanitation, and daily living conditions.

Living with Heat 

The effects of extreme heat go far beyond discomfort. They lead to dehydration, disease outbreaks, reduced productivity, and heightened risk for children and those with existing health conditions. Shelter conditions often worsen these risks. In Bangladesh, materials that trap heat can make indoor spaces nearly unlivable. In contrast, traditional housing designs in South Sudan provide relatively better thermal comfort, highlighting the need for context-sensitive solutions, Vishal Pathak stressed.

Communities, on the other hand have developed several coping measures such as changing work hours, storing water, modifying shelters, and even migrating temporarily to find resources. But as Mihir Bhatt, Director and Founder of AIDMI emphasizes, these strategies should not be seen as signs of resilience. They are often forced compromises, carrying hidden costs in health, income, and long-term well-being.

When Adaptation Masks Injustice  

A key insight from the discussion was found to be the romanticization of community adaptation measures. When survival strategies are framed as resilience, the structural problems that create the need for them can be overlooked.

The issue of extreme heat and how it impacts is therefore a matter of justice—one that disproportionately impacts marginalised groups: informal workers, migrants, women, and residents of crowded urban areas. Unlike flash floods or earthquakes, heat operates slowly and silently causing a longer impact. It may not make headlines, but it gradually erodes lives and livelihoods. It reveals a fundamental imbalance—not just in exposure, but in protection.

Just Response Removes Inequality

Encouragingly, there is growing recognition among humanitarian actors that current approaches need to evolve. Actors are increasingly recognizing the need to move from early warning systems to early action, from reactively responding to proactively adapting, and from top-down planning to locally based adaptation, and to make a just response that removes inequality of allocation and outcomes.

However, important challenges remain. Dialogue spaces are growing, but decision-making processes stay weak. Those most affected are still often absent from decisions that shape their futures. Addressing this through a justice perspective requires more than small adjustments. It demands a shift in priorities and practices. Four key directions stand out from the work of AIDMI on the ground: 

·       Visibility: We must recognize and measure what is often ignored—health impacts from heat, lost income, and declines in productivity. 

·       Actionability: Making sure early warnings lead to locally useful and achievable actions. 

·       Dignity: Supporting adaptation with practical and accessible measures—shade, water, ventilation, and financial protection. 

·       Inclusion: Embedding justice in policy by involving affected communities as partners, not just beneficiaries.

A Final Question 

Humanitarian systems have made good progress in responding to sudden disasters. But extreme heat presents a different challenge—one that is gradual, widespread, and deeply unequal. It forces us to confront tough questions: Who receives protection, cooling, and support first – and who is still left to cope alone? Will all affected receive equal cooling measures, and will be equally cool?

As Mihir Bhatt highlights, humanitarian justice is achieved when no one is left to face risk alone. As temperatures continue to rise, addressing these gaps will become increasingly important.

Authors: Vishal Pathak, Padmini Iyer, Mihir R. Bhatt