2024 was the warmest year on record. A recent report by the World Bank revealed that Sri Lanka is among a few South Asian countries identified with a temperature level that is considered too hot for people to be able to work safely outdoors for an average of six hours a day. When compared with other Asian cities, Colombo has made little or no effort to mitigate this overheating threat at a planning level. We highlight in this policy brief the impacts of heat stress on outdoor workers in the city and pathways for addressing climate change in Colombo that need to be acted on.