Climate change’s hidden toll: Night heat steals sleep as Gujarat loses 81 hours annually
While Ahmedabad residents lose an average of 78 hours of sleep a year due to night heat, cities such as Surat and Bhavnagar experience heat-related sleep loss of 86 hours and 88 hours, respectively, every year.
The data was uncovered in a global study conducted by Climate Central, an independent nonprofit group of scientists and communicators that researches and reports facts about the changing climate and how it affects people’s lives, a comprehensive global study analyzing 1,338 cities.
The findings of the study show that the average person worldwide lost approximately 56 hours of sleep per year due to high ambient temperatures during 2020-2025. Cities in the Middle East experienced the highest levels of sleep loss due to climate change between 2020 and 2025, while in almost every city analyzed, the amount of temperature-related sleep loss linked to climate change has at least doubled since the early 1970s.
Interestingly, the study also noted: “Air conditioning may help protect people from hot nights, but access to cooling often depends on income, and when cooling is available, high temperatures may still reduce sleep.”
Sleep losses due to climate change are also high in other already hot places, the report said: “People in southern India and some countries in Southeast Asia lost 78 to 91 hours of sleep per year due to higher night temperatures, including about eight to nine hours due to climate change.”
Counting the seven cities covered in Gujarat’s study, which include Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bilimora, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara, the state lost 81.4 hours of sleep per year during 2020-2025, compared to 76.1 hours per year in 1970-1975, due to night heat. The study also covers 107 Indian cities and is as follows: In 1970-75, the average urban Indian lost 69.5 hours of sleep per year due to night temperature, while in 2025, he lost an average of 74.6 hours of sleep.
The study shows that although urban Gujarat’s annual sleep deficit of 81.4 hours is significantly higher than the national average of 74.6 hours, India loses much more sleep than the global average of 49.6 hours per year.
