By Muhammad Taher and Mihir R. Bhatt*

South Asia’s coastal regions—stretching from the mangrove deltas of Bangladesh and India, the islands of Sri Lanka and Maldives, and Pakistan’s desert coast—are increasingly caught in the crossfire of two converging climate risks: coastal disasters and extreme heat. Traditionally, these coastal belts have been shaped by cyclones, tidal surges, erosion, and flooding. Today, however, the threat matrix has expanded. Extreme heat, once considered a challenge for inland areas, now scorches the coasts—compounding vulnerabilities already entrenched in poverty, social inequality, gender disparity, and ecosystem degradation.

This issue of Southasiadisasters.net on “Coastal Disasters with a Focus on Extreme Heat: Perspectives from South Asia” brings together grounded perspectives and emerging analyses from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka to understand how extreme heat manifests in coastal contexts. The contributors—ranging from social scientists, oceanographers, emergency planners, community workers, and youth leaders—offer compelling insights into how rising sea temperatures, marine heatwaves, salinity intrusion, and wet-bulb heatwaves intersect with livelihoods, shelter, public health, freshwater scarcity, and the resilience of ecosystems, such as the Sundarbans.

The coastal zones of South Asia, though divided by national borders and shaped by distinct political contexts, share profound socio-environmental commonalities. The articles in this issue underscore the paradox of communities that are both deeply vulnerable and remarkably resilient in the face of accelerating climate impacts. Situated within a tropical climatic zone, none of these regions is exempt from the intensifying heat stress that increasingly disrupts daily life and livelihoods of the predominantly poor people.

Environmental degradation and the rising frequency of climate-induced disasters (e.g., cyclones and incursion of saline water) present complex challenges, not only for the concerned state governments but also for the social fabric of affected communities. The contributors to this issue explore how individuals and groups navigate these adversities, with a particular focus on the socio-economic ramifications of recurrent heatwaves. Their analyses highlight how historical inequalities, governance frameworks, and informal adaptive strategies shape lived experiences in these high-risk areas.

Like previous issues of Southasiadisasters.net, Issue No. 223 has also combined the technical dimensions of climate risk and adaptation alongside the social and economic dynamics that mediate these impacts. In doing so, it provides a critical lens on vulnerability and resilience from a social studies perspective. Together, this issue constitutes a significant repository of empirical and theoretical insight—an essential resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with climate justice, disaster risk governance, and sustainable development in South Asia.

In sum, what emerges is a portrait of an intensifying humanitarian crisis that is at once ecological and deeply social. From the dehydration of fishing communities in Khulna to the heat-induced collapse of marine habitats in Tamil Nadu, and from the mental toll on women who fetch water in drought-stricken deltas to the declining productivity of heat-stressed youth, the stories and data in this issue reveal that adaptation is no longer optional—it is happening now, and we must find time and resources to support and scale it up.

The editors hope that this issue sparks new dialogue across silos—between coastal planners and climate modellers, between humanitarian responders and local women leaders, and between South Asian policymakers and global financiers. Because the calamitous heat risk is no longer on the horizon—it is already here. To reshape the future of South Asia’s coasts into prosperous and peaceful ones, we need to turn the tide of surging heat into a bearable and manageable level of cooling.

* Co-editors: Muhammad Taher is a member of the Steering Committee of Duryog Nivaran, a South Asian network on disaster mitigation. He is experienced in managing programmes and researching policies concerning vulnerability reduction of communities affected by disasters and climate impacts.

Mihir R. Bhatt, of AIDMI, is a leading disaster risk expert dedicated to inclusive, community-driven climate resilience, with a special focus on coastal disasters and extreme heat impacts across vulnerable regions in South Asia.